


3. Double Trouble

by Foozinator



Series: All Over Again [3]
Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-14
Updated: 2016-03-14
Packaged: 2018-05-26 18:39:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6251140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foozinator/pseuds/Foozinator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ranma finds a cure!  But is it worse than the curse?</p>
            </blockquote>





	3. Double Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> This series is something I wrote a couple decades ago, and as such is really only posted for archival purposes.

"spoken lines" - Japanese  
<spoken lines> \- Chinese  
*thoughts*  
================================================== =========

Prologue - Opposites Attract

Ranma sighed as he moved the mouse and clicked the button. Slowly, the list  
appeared on the screen. The white noise of several fans filled the room,  
muting most of the other sounds the students made. A dropped book became a  
mere muted thump. The scribbling of a pencil was a faintest whisper. The  
incessant noise made the download seem to crawl. Ranma turned to Nabiki.  
"Are they always this slow?"

Nabiki looked over at Ranma's screen. "Not always, but the school  
connection isn't the fastest in the world. Are you finding anything?"

Ranma sighed again. "I dunno. I keep getting these lists, but they don't  
say much about where they go."

Nabiki rolled her chair to get a better look. "You're still just going  
through the Yahoo search?"

"Yeah, I guess. Even if I did find something, what do I do to check it  
out?"

"Just click on the underlined words. See where the pointer turns into a  
hand?"

"Yeah. Too bad there ain't no martial arts web surfing or somethin'. I'd  
be able to figure this out more quickly." He scrolled the list down and  
squinted at an entry. "What does three X's mean?"

Nabiki giggled. "That's a hentai / ecchi site. Is that what you're looking  
for? Jeez, Ranma, you think you'd be getting enough of that around here."

"I ain't done none of that stuff!"

"Don't tell me you don't like girls."

"That's not what I mean. What I meant was..." Ranma paused.

Nabiki looked at him, waiting for a few seconds. "Yes?"

Ranma blinked. "You're actually gonna listen to me?"

It was Nabiki's turn to blink. "Well, it sounded like you were going to  
explain."

"Well, it's just that every time I start to explain somethin', I get  
interrupted. Even when I can explain, nobody believes me anyway."

Nabiki folded her arms. "Well, I'm listening."

Ranma thought about a way to get his point across. "What's you favorite  
food?"

Nabiki leaned back in her chair. "That's easy, chocolate."

"What if you had a bunch of people trying to shove chocolate down your  
throat all the time."

"Wouldn't that be nice."

"Until you got sick."

"That'd take a while."

"If you had to eat a whole lotta chocolate every day, it wouldn't take  
long."

"So, what you're saying is that you don't like having girls all over you all  
the time. I know a lot of guys that would pay me to take your place."

"Maybe for a while, but you can't even talk to one of them without the other  
girls gettin' all angry. I don't mind fighting Kuno and Ryoga much, but I  
don't like to hit girls."

"Oh, having girls fight over you must be oh so terrible."

Ranma leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "That's not how it is."

Nabiki leveled a predatory gaze at him. "Oh really. Tell me how it is,  
then."

Ranma thought a bit before answering. "Remember how Akane met P-Chan a  
couple a' days ago?"

Nabiki nodded.

"Well, you don't know the half of it..."

================================================== =========

Chapter 1 - Discovery and Ignorance

Ranma was walking home from school. As usual, he followed Akane to the  
Tendo home from the top of the fence. Akane marched at her own pace, not  
even looking in the general direction of the fence. Ranma picked up his  
pace to catch up with Akane. "Yo, Akane, wait up."

Akane did not slow or turn, but yelled over her shoulder. "I have nothing  
to say to you, Ranma!"

Ranma jumped down from the fence, landing in front of Akane. "Will ya' just  
list-"

"No! You can just go home with that hussy for all I care!" Akane did not  
slow down, walking around Ranma without missing a step.

Ranma wrinkled his nose. "Go home with Kuno Kodachi? Are you nuts?!"

"Why not? She's pretty enough! She sure got your attention during lunch!"

"I didn't ask her ta-"

"Oh, Ranma, my darling!" Akane said, trying to imitate Kodachi's voice. "I  
am so glad to meet such an adorable man! Watch for me at the rhythmic  
gymnastics competition!"

"I don't even know what she's talkin'-"

"Why was she so familiar with you, Ranma?! She couldn't keep her hands off  
you!"

"But Akane, I-"

"Just leave me alone, you baka!" Akane ran off towards home. Ranma looked  
down the direction she had gone, sadly shaking his head.

"SAOTOME!" Without even looking, Ranma stepped out of Ryoga's strike.  
Pieces of sidewalk and rocks pelted the two young men as Ryoga's umbrella  
impacted with the ground.

Ranma sighed. "Jeez, Ryoga. I ain't a Saotome, and I don't wanna fight.  
Didn't you get enough when you beat me last month?"

Ryoga hefted his umbrella out of the crater. "Not after I heard what you  
did to Akane today!"

"What do you know about what happened at school?"

"Never mind how I know. How dare you hurt her feelings like that!"

Ranma folded his arms, ignoring Ryoga's threatening stance. "Why do you  
care about Akane? Are you jealous?"

Ryoga's face turned red. "Never mind how I feel about Akane! I've come to  
pay you back for hurting her!" Ryoga opened his umbrella and threw it at  
Ranma. Ranma dodged the umbrella and landed a kick in Ryoga's stomach.  
Ryoga fell over onto the ground. Ranma looked behind himself in time to  
dodge the umbrella as it circled back.

Ryoga got up as the umbrella landed beside him. "Your little kicks can't  
hurt me, remember?"

Ranma opened his mouth to reply when a splash of water landed on Ryoga.  
Beside him was a little old lady, who was splashing water onto the sidewalk.  
Ranma watched Ryoga disappear, his clothes and backpack falling to the  
ground. He knelt for a closer look, carefully avoiding the water splashes,  
as something began to rustle in the pile of yellow and black material. His  
eyes opened wide as a small, black piglet worked its way clear of the shirt  
and bweed angrily. The piglet wore a collar that was strikingly similar to  
the headband that Ryoga wore. Ranma chuckled and picked Ryoga up by the  
collar. "Spring of drowned piglet, ne?" The piglet squealed and shook its  
paws, trying to swing at Ranma's face. "Oh, you are _so_ dangerous as a  
pig." Ranma stood, backing away from the old woman. "Well, I'd stay and  
chat, but I've got an errand to run for Ukyo. I also gotta have a talk with  
Akane. Besides..." Ranma disdainfully dropped Ryoga back onto the pile of  
clothing. "...this little piggy shoulda' stayed home."

Ryoga shivered with anger as Ranma chuckled and walked away. He growled as  
only a little piglet could.

** ** **

Ranma walked up the stairs at U-chan's, still thinking of the significance  
of Ryoga turning into a piglet. *I wonder what Ukyo would think about  
that?* he thought, opening the door to her room. He heard a gasp and looked  
up to see a partially clothed Ukyo. He squeaked out a "Gomen" and quickly  
shut the door. He could hear his heart thump as he went into his bedroom.  
*What was I thinking? I didn't even knock!*

A couple of minutes later, Ukyo knocked on his door. "Come in," Ranma said.

Ukyo opened the door, peeking in as Ranma hung his head. She stepped up to  
Ranma, holding his hands. "Ranma, don't worry about it, just knock next  
time."

Ranma looked down at his hands in hers and felt his face get warm. He  
pulled his hands away. "I don't know what I'm gonna do, Ukyo."

Ukyo put her hand on Ranma's shoulder, noticing that he blushed again at her  
touch. "Did something happen at school?"

Ranma nodded. "Akane got jealous again."

"What did you do?"

"I found this chick that was beating up on some of my classmates. I told  
her to leave them alone, and the next thing I know, we're fighting. She had  
these weird weapons, and she was pretty good with them, but she didn't have  
any speed."

Ukyo nodded. She couldn't think of anyone she knew who could even come  
close to Ranma's speed, even without his chestnuts on an open fire  
technique.

"I tried not to hurt her, but I threw one of her clubs back to her and it  
hit her on the knee. She fell down, and I kinda felt sorry for hitting her.  
I asked her if she was okay, and helped her stand up. The next thing I  
know, she's giving me this weird look. She glomps me and starts talking  
weird, like Kuno Tatewaki."

"Another girlfriend?" Ukyo folded her arms in mock anger. "Really Ranma,  
you need to get that ego back under control."

Ranma shuddered. "Ugh, this one was nuts."

Ukyo blinked. "Like how?"

"Like she's got this insane laugh. She calls herself the black petunia or  
something, and she spreads these stupid black flower petals and runs off."

"So, when did Akane come in?"

"Right when this Kodachi chick glomped me. I didn't even have time to push  
her away when Akane stepped up and slapped me."

Ukyo sighed. "Ranma, sugar, why are you hanging around someone who hits you  
without giving you a chance to say a thing?"

Ranma looked down at the floor. "Remember when she first found me here?  
She was shuffling like her feet hurt."

"Ranma, honey, talk sense."

Ranma looked up. "She's a really nice person, most of the time. She went  
through a lot to apologize to me. She can be really nice."

"She just has a short temper."

Ranma sighed. "I want to go talk to her."

"Why?"

"I just wanna chance to tell her what really happened. Maybe if she knew I  
wasn't interested in these other girls, she wouldn't get so jealous."

Ukyo shrugged. "Well, I'm not your mother, but I would appreciate it if you  
could be back in time to help me with the evening rush."

** ** **

Ranma paused a moment at the front gate to the Tendo home. Now that Akane  
had some time to cool off, she would listen to him. He would tell her that  
he wanted nothing to do with Kodachi and her insta-love, especially if the  
rumors about her using drugs on her opponents were true. He shivered at the  
thought. All the martial arts in the world couldn't help you if you were  
unconscious or couldn't move. *Why do I always attract the crazy ones?* he  
thought for a moment. *Xian Pu was a bit off center, but she was just  
determined. But drugs and black flower petals? Kodachi is just plain  
nuts.* He opened the front gate and walked down the rock path to the front  
door.

Kasumi answered the door when he knocked. "Oh, Ranma. Come on in. Akane  
is in the tea room."

Ranma thanked Kasumi and walked down the hallway. As he neared the room, he  
could hear Akane's voice. She was speaking in calm, soothing tones.  
Feeling encouraged, Ranma stepped into the doorway to see Akane sitting at  
the table. She was holding a little black piglet up to her chest, feeding  
it rice from a bowl. She was so absorbed in the little animal that Ranma  
felt sheepish interrupting her. "Um, Akane."

Akane smiled up to him. "Oh, hi Ranma. Look what I found. I was shopping  
for food for Kasumi, and I nearly tripped over him. Isn't he cute?" She  
held the piglet up for Ranma to see.

The piglet shivered and bweed angrily. Ranma saw the yellow bandanna around  
the piglet's neck. The piglet snuggled up against Akane. "Ryoga!" Ranma  
yelled, snatching the piglet out of Akane's hug. "What the hell are you  
doing?!" The piglet writhed and swung its paws to get out of Ranma's grasp.

Akane stood up. "Hey, what are you doing to P-Chan?!"

Ranma blinked at Akane. "Who the heck is P-Chan? And why are you feeding  
Ryoga like that?"

Akane blinked. "Ryoga? Where is Ryoga?"

Ranma held the piglet at arm's length. "He's right here."

Akane blinked again. "P-Chan? Ranma, it's a little piglet. How can P-Chan  
be Ryoga?"

"Because he-OW!" P-Chan bit Ranma's hand. Ranma smacked the pig with his  
free hand, sending it to the floor.

"Ranma no baka!" Akane slapped Ranma across the face. "Don't pick on my  
little P-Chan!"

"He's not P-Chan, he's Ryo-ooof!" P-Chan leapt into Ranma's stomach,  
catching him off-guard. Ranma stepped back to keep his balance, hefting the  
piglet to throw it.

Akane grabbed the pig with one hand and punched Ranma with the other.  
"Don't you treat my P-Chan like that!"

Ranma flew out the door and landed in the pond. After a few seconds, an  
angry redhead slowly stood up. She glared back into the house. "Ok, fine.  
Get all snugly with Ryoga then. See if I care."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ranma, but if Ryoga is half as  
smart as you, I'd feed him dinner anytime! Do you hear me, Ranma?!"

Ranma didn't listen. She marched straight out the front gate and headed  
home.

Akane gently picked P-Chan up. "Now what was he babbling about?" It almost  
looked like the piglet shrugged his shoulders.

** ** **

"Wait a minute," Nabiki said, holding her hand on Ranma's shoulder. "You're  
telling me that Ryoga _is_ P-Chan?"

Ranma nodded. "He was in Jusenkyo. Spring of drowned piglet."

Nabiki leaned back in her chair. "This sets up some interesting  
possibilities. If you couldn't convince Akane that Ryoga is P-Chan..." Her  
voice trailed off, as yen signs seemed to float in her eyes. She blinked,  
realizing that Ranma was giving her a weird look. "Well, Ranma, I also have  
some information that you would be interested in knowing."

"Yeah, what?"

Nabiki put her hand out. "1000 yen."

Ranma blinked. "What?"

"I have information I know you're interested in. To find out what it is,  
you need 1000 yen."

"You're charging me to tell me something? You didn't charge me to help me  
with my assignment."

"That was because I was already here in the computer lab. Telling you this  
information is going out of my way, and it's going to cost you."

"What makes you think I care about what you know?"

"The price just went up to 2000 yen."

Ranma tried to study Nabiki's expressionless face, then growled as he dug  
into his backpack. He handed over a couple of bills. The money disappeared  
and Nabiki smiled. "P-Chan is not only Akane's new pet. She's been  
sleeping with him on her pillow the past couple nights."

Ranma banged his hand on the mouse. "Why did you tell me that?"

Nabiki smiled. "You paid me to."

"You.....you....you..." Ranma stammered. He looked around for something to  
throw. The mouse was tethered, there were no unused chairs handy, the  
monitor was... His jaw was still moving, but only whimpers were coming out.

Nabiki blinked, realizing that Ranma was looking at the computer screen.  
She leaned over and read the web page title aloud, "Jusenkyo FAQ Home Page."  
She read it again. The title was in English, but the text was in Chinese.  
The two of them stared at the display for several seconds before Nabiki  
managed to say, "How did you find this?" Ranma shrugged. Nabiki looked  
back to the monitor. "I guess you really can find anything on the Web."

Ranma clicked on the Japanese flag, and the page re-loaded with Japanese  
text. He scrolled down and stared at a link: "Are there any cures?".  
Nabiki silently watched him click on the link and read the next page that  
loaded.

After a few minutes of intense reading, Ranma turned to Nabiki. "Is there  
any way to get this stuff on paper?"

** ** **

The old store clerk didn't look up at first when he heard the door open. He  
was content to allow the potential customer to browse the selection. Too  
much pressure never closed a sale. Instead, he casually pretended to  
straighten some of the antique clocks on the shelf behind the counter.

"Um, excuse me."

The clerk turned and looked over the counter at the young man. "May I help  
you?"

Ranma held up a piece of paper. "Yeah, I'm looking for this."

The clerk looked down at the paper. It was a computer printout. The  
portion Ranma pointed to was describing some sort of old formula. "Hmm, I  
don't know that much about that kind of thing. The cherry blossoms should  
be easy to come by. Not sure about this other stuff."

Ranma sighed. "Do you know anywhere I might be able to find out about the  
other stuff?"

The old man thought for a moment, chewing on the tip of a pencil. "You  
might try a place I've seen once or twice. It's called 'Little China Herbal  
Shop'. They have all sorts of powders and oils there."

"Great, where is it?"

"A couple blocks North from Shinjuku station. Across the street from the  
Pizza Hut."

Ranma called out over his shoulder as he ran out the store, "Thanks a lot!"

The old man chuckled, watching the young man run down the street. "Kids and  
fireworks."

** ** **

The Pizza Hut was easy to find. The herbal shop was tucked into a small  
alcove, almost hidden in a dark alley. Ranma could smell the incense before  
he reached the door. He stopped for a moment in the doorway to give his  
eyes a chance to adjust to the darkness. He looked around at the shelves of  
baskets and bags, each nearly full with different colored powders and  
grains. Herbs hung from the ceiling. He almost couldn't pick out the old  
woman, whose clothes were the same rough brown cloth that many of the sacks  
and bags were made of. The old woman shuffled towards him. "What are you  
looking for, young man?"

Ranma silently held the paper for the woman to see. She read the paper  
silently, then looked back at him. "Do you know what this could do to you?"

Ranma nodded. "I hope so."

The woman studied him. "Why do you want to mess with dangerous things like  
this?"

"Ever heard of Jusenkyo?"

The woman shrugged. "I've heard that there are training grounds for martial  
artists there. Are you a martial artist?"

Ranma nodded.

The woman sighed. "Well, I guess you know how to deal with danger then."  
She looked back down at the paper. "I think I might have most of this stuff  
around here." She picked up a woven basket and handed it to Ranma. "Follow  
me."

Ranma followed the old woman around the shop, trying to keep his patience.  
She would shuffle over to a shelf and pull a small bag out of a nook before  
filling it with a handful or two of some powder from one of the bags on the  
shelf. She would slowly tie each bag shut with short leather straps before  
handing it to Ranma. He noticed that most of the straps had labels  
attached. Finally, she shuffled over to a small table, handing Ranma's  
paper back to him. "I was able to find most of the ingredients on your  
recipe here. The cherry blossoms are in bloom, so you can get those just  
about anywhere for free."

Ranma looked at the basket of bags. There were more of them than he thought  
there would be. He didn't give a real close look to the different materials  
listed on the web page, but now he was beginning to wonder how much trouble  
this cure was going to be.

The woman spoke again. "There were a couple of things I know I don't have  
here. I don't think you can get them at any store. At least not here in  
Japan."

Ranma sighed. "Oh great, how am I going to get this to work then?"

"I didn't say you won't be able to get them. I just said you won't be able  
to buy them. This spell you plan to attempt is a potentially dangerous  
spell. I'm not going to pry into your private life to find out why you want  
to mess with this, but I will tell you this: What makes this spell work is  
the power of these two ingredients. This power isn't something that is easy  
to come by. If you can manage to get the two ingredients together, I am  
confident that you can handle whatever you plan to do with the spell."

** ** **

The evening rush had already begun when Ranma arrived back at U-chan's. He  
apologized to Ukyo before running upstairs and putting his basket of goods  
on his bed. He had to pause and look at the basket for a moment, promising  
himself that he would get the rest of the pieces together as soon as he  
could. He let out a small sigh before going back downstairs to work.

After the customers left, Ukyo thankfully locked the door and hung the  
"closed" sign. She walked back to the counter, where Ranma was taking his  
shoes off. She sat down beside him and began to massage one of his feet.  
Ranma squirmed uncomfortably. "Um, I'm not sure you wanna do that."

Ukyo looked up to see Ranma blushing. "Why?"

"Uh, 'cause my feet smell."

Ukyo shrugged. "I'll wash my hands later." Not being able to think of  
another excuse, Ranma relaxed for a while. Ukyo put one foot down and  
started rubbing the other. "So, what kept you late today? You know it's  
starting to become a habit. When you went to talk to Akane, you were gone  
late."

"I'm sorry Ukyo, I've had a lot on my mind."

"Well, sugar, it's been tough for me, trying to get ready. The crowds have  
been getting bigger since the slump from our trip to China."

"China, oh yeah!" Ranma jumped, thankful for the distraction. "Man, I  
almost forgot. I found a cure for my curse!"

Ukyo stood up and hugged him. "A cure! That's great, honey!"

Ranma smiled and nodded. "I was late today because I was trying to get the  
stuff I need together. I still got a couple of things I need to get."

Ukyo sat down and picked up his foot again. "Ok, you're forgiven. So, when  
do we go?"

Ranma stared at Ukyo for a moment. "It won't be easy. This could take  
days, maybe even a week."

"I can close the store for a while."

"For a whole week? Ukyo, what are customers going to think if we keep  
closing down with no warning."

Ukyo's lower lip stuck out a bit. "You don't want me to go with you.  
Ranma, I don't want you to leave me again."

"I didn't say that. I just don't think we have a choice. Ukyo, I really  
wanna get this cure, but I won't go if it means losing what we've got with  
this place. Weren't you just telling me the crowds are just starting to  
come back?"

Ukyo dropped Ranma's foot and put her hands on his shoulders. "You're  
right. Ranma, honey, I can handle this place. You go get rid of this  
curse."

Ranma smiled back. "Thanks, U-chan. I'll pack tonight and leave tomorrow  
morning."

Ukyo pulled Ranma closer, hugging him tightly. "You just take care of  
yourself."

Ranma blushed again, but hugged Ukyo back. "I will. And I'll be back as  
soon as I can to help you out with the store."

The two finished cleaning the store for the next day, leaving each other to  
their thoughts. Ranma mindlessly set the chairs on the tables, cleaned the  
floor, and washed the dishes. He smiled at Ukyo as they walked upstairs  
together. She gave his shoulder a squeeze before walking into her bedroom.  
Ranma went into his bedroom and began packing.

He quickly realized that he hadn't forgotten how to pack for a journey. *At  
least there's something I got outta those trips,* he thought as he organized  
the items in his pack for space. Once the pack was full, he looked around  
his room to see if there was something he forgot. He was surprised to  
notice that there was little in the room left to pack. He had spent most of  
his life on training trips, and he never exactly had a lot of money to be  
collecting souvenirs.

He stretched out on his futon. He wondered why he hadn't settled in more.  
*Am I that ready to take off again? Why? What am I afraid of here? Isn't  
U-chan and the store a good thing? Shouldn't I be hanging on to the things  
that seem to be working? Are challenges that important to me?* Ranma  
drifted into sleep, uneasy about the answers that came to him.

================================================== =========

Chapter 2 - Small and Large

The next morning, Ranma rolled off the futon. Ukyo knocked on the door.  
Ranma opened the door, holding his pack beside him. Ukyo peeked inside the  
room. "Wow, Ranma. How long were you planning on being gone?"

Ranma looked around the empty room. The basket of ingredients looked small  
sitting in the corner by itself. Besides that and the futon, the room was  
bare. "I dunno. I hope not long."

Ukyo stepped into the middle of the room and looked around, chuckling. "You  
mind if I rent this out while you're gone?"

Ranma put his pack down. "I don't wanna be gone that long."

Ukyo looked at Ranma before walking over to him. She put her arms around  
his neck and pulled him close. She could feel his breath on her forehead as  
she leaned a bit to put her head on his shoulder. Ranma could feel himself  
blush yet again from being so close to Ukyo, but he put his arms around her  
and gently scratched her back. They hugged each other for a while before  
Ukyo stepped back. She reached up and teased a few strands of his hair. "I  
really don't want to have to run this place by myself. You take care of  
yourself so you can come back to me."

"I'll be back soon. I promise."

Ukyo wiped her eyes. "Look at me. I promised myself I wouldn't get all  
mushy."

Ranma put a hand on her shoulder and opened his mouth. There were a dozen  
things he wanted to say. None of them were things he was sure of. Instead  
of speaking, he smiled at her before picking his pack up again and silently  
walking downstairs.

Ranma walked quietly to the Shinkansen station, trying not to think too much  
about anything in particular. His training trips before would always start  
with a large amount of jabbering and babbling by the old man over how great  
the trip would be. Most of the time, the old fool was just vague enough  
that Ranma realized he had no idea of where they were going or what they  
should be training in. Occasionally, the trip would be for something  
specific, like training in Jusenkyo. Now, Ranma was on a journey to undo  
some of the damage that had been done.

The ticket at the Tokyo station was more expensive than he thought. He  
would have to be careful to keep enough for a trip back. The good news was  
that switching between the faster Hikari and the slower Kodama allowed him  
to get near the foot of Mt. Fuji in about an hour. He would have a good  
start and should be able to get back down to Gotemba before it got too cold.  
Even though it was spring, and the cherry blossoms were beginning to open,  
the temperatures up at altitude dropped quickly after sundown.

He reached Gotemba uneventfully and prepared himself for the hike. There  
was a gate at the beginning of the trail. A sign on the gate read "Closed  
until July 1." Ranma took a quick look around to make sure that no one was  
around before jumping over the gate and running along the trail.

After reaching a comfortable distance into the forest, he slowed down and  
enjoyed the scenery. There was a stillness in the air that Ranma hadn't  
known for some time. There was no wind to disturb the trees. Occasionally,  
he could hear some small animal scurry away as he approached. The air was  
crisp and cool. He soon found himself at the first resting spot, a small,  
simple lodge with basic amenities. He wasn't surprised to find the door  
locked. No one was expected for three months. He continued on, hiking past  
other lodges and rest stops, and enjoying the stillness and solitude.

It was near lunchtime when he reached a lodge that was at the tree line.  
There were spots of melting snow clinging to the shadows. From that point  
on the trail, he could see the snow line a few minutes walk away. He  
relaxed for a moment at the lodge, taking the opportunity to dig the  
instructions out of his pack. After reading the instructions again, he  
realized that he would have to be careful not to lose any landmarks in the  
snow. For a moment, he wondered if it might be better to wait until the  
trails were officially open and more snow had melted. He re-tied the flap  
on his pack put it back on, leaving the instructions in his hand. He didn't  
want to wait.

He didn't get too far into the snow before he realized that he should have  
gotten a set of boots. The snow stuck to his shoes and had begun to melt.  
He could feel the cold, but he had put plastic bags on under his shoes, so  
he wasn't getting wet. He wondered how long it would be before his feet got  
numb. *A martial artist is ready to give his life for the cause. Surely,  
some cold feet can't keep him back.* Ranma pushed the encouragement out of  
his head. It reminded him too much of the old man.

The next lodge still had some snow on the roof. A small breeze gave Ranma a  
shiver as he looked at the white blanket. The trail continued on at a  
decently steep climb. After looking down at the instructions for a moment,  
Ranma turned and headed across the slope. He trudged on for a few hundred  
meters before clearing a ridge and looking into the small gully that ran  
down the slope. He looked along the bottom of the gully and saw nothing but  
snow. He looked back at the instructions. A gust of wind gave him a chill.  
He walked straight across to the bottom of the gully, noticing that the  
ridge offered little protection from the wind. He looked at the  
instructions yet again before climbing straight up the gully, counting each  
step as he went.

** ** **

Ukyo enjoyed the short walk to the park. She would only need an hour or so  
to open the restaurant and prepare it for the evening rush. Even so, she  
didn't have a lot of time. She reached the park, clutching an empty bento  
box in both hands. She stared at the cherry trees with breathless wonder.  
A little gust of wind swept through the park, knocking some of the blossoms  
loose. She watched the parents and children sitting under the trees, the  
dropping blossoms falling on them like light, fluffy snowflakes. The  
children were running between the trees, laughing and shrieking with joy.  
The parents watched the kids calmly, many of the smiling openly.

Ukyo stayed just outside the scene and sighed before walking up to the  
nearest tree. She opened the bento and held it beneath a low branch. When  
she tapped the branch, the entire tree dropped a blanket of blossoms. More  
of the blossoms landed on her than in the box.

"Are you trying to cover yourself?" a voice said from behind her.

Ukyo turned around and saw Akane. She was still in her school dress, and  
Ukyo thought that she must have just gotten out of school. "Akane, what  
brings you to the park?"

"It's not that far out of the way, so I like to stop by every once in a  
while on my way home and notice how the seasons change."

Ukyo blinked. "Notice how the seasons change?"

"Yeah." Akane reached up and plucked a small blossom. "In the summer,  
everything is so green. The kids are playing and everything seems bigger  
and fuller. In the fall, the trees turn the most beautiful colors and cover  
the ground with their leaves. In the winter, I can sometimes come to see a  
fresh new white blanket of snow. It looks so peaceful when there aren't any  
footprints in it, and when there are footprints, there's usually a few snow  
angels or snowmen decorating the park."

Ukyo stared at Akane. "You actually take the time to stop and look at all  
that?"

Akane nodded, smiling. She twirled the blossom in her hand.

"Wow, I've always been so busy with one thing or another that I rarely had  
the time to look at the scenery. When it snowed, I just thought about how  
cold it was going to be, and in the summer, I just thought about how hot it  
was." Ukyo looked back at the scene she had enjoyed moments before. "Well,  
I have to admit that the park sure looks nice right now."

Akane held the blossom up to Ukyo. "You should stop every once in a while  
and smell the blossoms."

Ukyo took the blossom and smiled back to Akane. She smelled the blossom.  
It made her wonder when the last time was that she smelled a flower. At the  
same time, she realized what Ranma must see in Akane.

Akane looked down at the bento. "So, what cha' doin'?"

Ukyo put the flower down in the box. "I'm gathering up cherry blossoms for  
Ranma."

Akane furrowed her brow. "For Ranma? He likes flowers?"

"No... I don't think so. He's trying to get some sort of cure together."

Akane blinked. "You mean he's found a cure for his curse?"

"He thinks so. We won't know for sure until he's gotten everything together  
and tries it out."

Akane took some time to allow the news to sink in. Each time she had seen  
Ranma deal with his curse, he was either very angry or more than a little  
sad. She could barely imagine how deeply he would want to get rid of it  
once and for all. "Wow." Finally, Akane came back to the present and  
looked back at Ukyo. "Hey, you want some help getting blossoms?"

Ukyo lifted the bento box, which had a small handful of flowers in it.  
"Yeah. You saw how well my first attempt worked. I just wish I had time to  
go back for a blanket."

"Well, you can put the box down here, and I'll sit down in front of it and  
hold my dress out. That way, all the flowers that land in front of me will  
fall into the box, too."

"Thank you," Ukyo said, putting the box down beneath one of the lower  
branches. Akane kneeled in front of the box and held her skirt out, forming  
a partial funnel leading into the box. Ukyo shook the branch, and blossoms  
were quickly covering Akane's head as well as falling down into the box.  
After a few more shakes, Akane swept up several handfuls of blossoms with  
her hand and put them into the box. It wasn't long before the box was full  
of blossoms. Akane put the lid back on, stood up, and handed the box to  
Ukyo.

Ukyo took the box and watched as Akane held her hands out like a ballerina  
and turned a few quick pirouettes. The blossoms spun off her head and  
rained down at her feet. Ukyo watched until Akane finished. Akane giggled.  
"I like doing that." She knocked some more blossoms down and twirled again,  
watching the petals fall off her head. Ukyo tried it, and thought it was  
fun.

Akane looked at the blanket of blossoms around the tree. She sighed and  
then looked up at Ukyo. "So, where's Ranma now?"

Ukyo looked off to the east. "He should be halfway up Mt. Fuji by now."

Akane looked in the same general direction, even though the mountain  
couldn't be seen. "Isn't it still closed to hikers?"

** ** **

The snow in the gully was much deeper. Despite the fact that he was in full  
sunlight and partially shaded from the wind, Ranma felt his legs get colder  
as he stepped in the snow nearly up to his knees. If it weren't for his  
martial arts training, he would have tired out long ago. When he had  
counted two hundred steps, he stopped and looked at the snow in front of  
him. It was as smooth as the snow he had been hiking over for the past  
hour, giving no clue as to what was underneath. He read over the  
instructions yet again, unsure of how to proceed. *It's gotta be around  
here somewhere.*

He took another step forward and sunk in past his knee. Another step and he  
was in the snow up to his hip. He quickly tucked the instructions into his  
pack and began to dig. His hands quickly chilled, but he didn't stop. He  
had quickly dug a hole and still hadn't found the bottom of the drop-off.  
He paused a moment to brush the snow off and breathe warm air into his  
hands, noticing that the surface of the snow was now over his head. He took  
a few more deep breaths before resuming his digging. Suddenly, his hand  
fell through the snow into open air. He quickly opened the whole and peered  
inside. There was just enough light getting inside for him to see the floor  
of the cave.

He took his pack off and pushed it through the hole in front of him, using  
it to make the hole big enough for him to crawl through. He took a couple  
steps past the snow and looked into the blackness, allowing himself a few  
moments to warm up a bit in the shelter of the cave. He was also thankful  
that he hadn't gotten wet enough to change. He fumbled through his pack in  
the darkness and pulled out a flashlight. The light allowed Ranma to see a  
small spot on the rock wall in front of him. He pointed the light around  
and saw that the cave twisted down and to the right. He straightened up to  
stand and promptly banged his head. There wasn't room to sit up straight,  
let alone stand. Grumbling, he pushed his pack ahead of him and supporting  
himself with one hand, holding the flashlight in the other.

He followed the cave around the corner and stopped at what looked like a  
dead end. The pack was lightly wedged in at three sides. He pulled it back  
a little and the far end of the pack dropped. Firmly gripping one of the  
straps, Ranma let the pack fall down the hole to the length of his arm. He  
stretched his arm, but still could find no hint of the bottom of the hole.  
He pointed the flashlight down, but could only see the top of his pack.

Grumbling, Ranma backed up to the corner where he had more room, pulling his  
pack with him. When he reached the spot, he crawled over the pack and tried  
to turn around. He tucked his head and felt himself wedge in from his hips  
to his shoulders in the narrow passageway. He fought to keep control over  
the rising panic of being stuck. He exhaled and tucked just a bit further,  
allowing his shoulders to scrape past the rock. He pulled his feet behind  
him one at a time. Then he backed over to the hole, pulling his pack behind  
him. When he reached the hole, he carefully lowered his legs down and waved  
his feet around. He could feel the rock wall, but still no floor. He  
pulled the flashlight over to try to see down, but he couldn't turn enough  
to see past the corner of the ledge. As he pushed against the wall, a few  
rocks came loose from the small ledge and tumbled down the hole. He inched  
further down the hole, holding the pack as an anchor in one hand. He held  
his other arm out to brace against the wall with his elbow, flashlight still  
pointed down the hole. With each centimeter, he could see a bit further  
down the hole, but not further than his thighs. His feet still dangled  
against the wall, no floor in touch. He allowed himself down to his chest  
and wiggled his feet. Still nothing. He carefully pointed the flashlight  
down and pushed himself against the wall to make a larger gap to see if he  
could get a view of the floor.

He did. Not only were his feet were mere centimeters from the bottom, but  
he could see that the hole opened up to one side. He dropped the short  
distance, holding the pack above him as he ducked into the opening. The  
cave opened up into a small room, where he could nearly stand up without  
bending over. He walked over to the other side of the room, which stopped  
abruptly with a large, dark boulder. He didn't need to read the  
instructions again. This was obviously it. He half-heartedly pounded on  
the boulder. *Man, Ryoga's breaking point technique sure would be handy  
here.* The air felt hot and heavy. He hit the rock again, harder. The  
rock developed a small crack. Encouraged, he stepped back and kicked. The  
boulder shattered, spilling rocks onto the floor. A bad smelling steam  
started coming out of the wall where the boulder was. The stuff smelled  
like rotten eggs. He looked through the rocks. There was a hole in one of  
the larger rocks. He kneeled down and reached to poke his finger through  
the hole. His finger stopped. He looked closely and realized that the  
thing he was looking at was not a hole, but a _very_ black rock. The other  
rocks were dark and jagged, but this rock was black and very smooth. He  
picked up the rock, noticing that it was almost egg-shaped. His breathing  
was becoming noticeably harder, and the smell was getting worse as the steam  
filled the small cavern.

He carefully packed the black rock in his pack and pushed it up the hole.  
He climbed up after it, and when he reached the top of the hole, he realized  
just how hard it was getting to breathe. He took a deep breath and felt a  
little dizzy. Pushing the pack ahead of him, he crawled the short distance  
back to the mouth of the cave. His flashlight shone against the snow, which  
completely blocked the opening. He clambered over the pack and began  
digging at the snow. He could feel himself hyperventilating. He dropped  
the flashlight and franticly began throwing the snow behind him. His vision  
began to narrow, and the blue of the snow turned to gray. He could feel his  
strength leaving him as his digging slowed. He fell forward onto the snow,  
feeling the cold against his cheek as he lost consciousness.

** ** **

Akane was practicing in the dojo. She had broken a few bricks, but decided  
that she would do better by going through a few kata. It was refreshing for  
her to remember some of the more basic ones. She finished with a smile, and  
looked over at the dojo shrine. The dojo felt suddenly so dark and empty.  
The feeling of dread that suddenly came over her confused her. She ran into  
the house, nearly sliding around the corners and skidding to a stop in the  
kitchen. It was empty. The feeling became stronger. She ran into the tea  
room, which was also empty. She sprinted to the wash room, where she found  
Kasumi putting clothes into the washing machine. Kasumi took one look at  
Akane and dropped the clothes she was holding. "Akane, what's wrong?"

Akane looked around the wash room. "Where is everybody?"

"Father is soaking in the furo. I think Nabiki is in her room. Why, what's  
wrong?"

Akane relaxed and sighed. "Oh, nothing. I just got this weird feeling. I  
was scared that something had happened."

Kasumi stepped over to the bathroom door. "Father?"

Soun's voice drifted through the door. "Hmmm?"

"How is your bath?"

"Just fine, Kasumi. I'll let you know when I'm done soaking."

Akane said, "Thank you," loud enough for both of them to hear before walking  
back to the dojo.

** ** **

Ukyo was comfortably in a cooking rhythm. Some of the customers had to wait  
while she served and waited on others, but no one complained. They seemed  
to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, and the food was definitely worth the wait.  
She walked back behind her counter for the umpteenth time and poured batter  
for the next order. She suddenly felt cold despite the heat coming from the  
cooking surface. She shivered and looked up. None of the other customers  
seemed to notice any temperature difference, and the doors were closed.

No, it wasn't a chill from a breeze. There was something else. Something  
was wrong. Something had happened. It... no, it wasn't him. It couldn't  
be him. She shook the thought out of her mind and tried to concentrate on  
cooking.

** ** **

Ranma was floating. He was cold. Slowly, he became more aware of himself.  
His hands and feet were numb. His nose hurt. His face was wet. Her face  
was wet. She corrected herself once she realized she had changed. She  
lifted her head and opened her eyes, grunting with the effort. She could  
see her arm stretched out in front of her. Her hand was sticking out of the  
snow into open air. She looked around, and realized that her head was  
nearly clear of the snow as well. As she felt her strength coming back, she  
gratefully pushed herself the rest of the way out.

She sat at the opening, breathing deeply and gathering her strength. She  
stomped her feet and beat her hands on her shoulders. Painfully, she began  
to get feeling back into them. After she felt a bit better, she looked  
around. Her pack and flashlight were still in the cave. She crawled into  
the opening and saw the flashlight almost immediately. She picked it up out  
of the snow and looked around for her pack. There was a small mound of snow  
where she had been digging. She pushed some of the snow away, smelling the  
sulfur in the cave air again. The pack was lightly buried in snow, and she  
grabbed a corner and pulled it out of the cave just as she was getting dizzy  
again.

She shouldered the pack and stood up. Her footprints to the cave were  
faded, but still visible in the early evening sunlight. She gathered more  
strength and climbed up to the ridge. The wind was picking up, and the air  
was quickly growing colder. She had already spent too much time on the  
mountain. She looked across the slope to the shelter of the lodge, barely  
visible in the distance. She looked down the slope. It would be dark  
before she could hike back down below the snow line. The lodge was a better  
choice.

She was exhausted and shivering when she reached the lodge. She dropped her  
pack and rested. The wind was getting stronger, and the cold was biting at  
her hands and feet. Her nose and ears hurt. She took a few deep breaths  
and kicked the locked door open. Inside, she found a closet with emergency  
supplies, including fresh water and blankets. She unpacked her blanket and  
a dry change of clothes before closing the door and leaning her pack against  
it. She changed into the dry clothes, hanging the wet ones over the closet  
shelves. It wasn't long after she laid down on her blanket and piled  
blanket after blanket over herself that she began to feel warm again. Very  
soon after that, she fell asleep.

** ** **

Ranma woke up, not remembering at first where she was. She stretched and  
looked over at her pack. *Oh yeah!* she thought. *I got one of the  
stones!* She opened the pack and looked for the dark stone. She felt the  
hard, cold sphere and pulled it out. In the shadows, the blackness of the  
stone was absolute. She opened the door for more light. There was no  
reflection in the stone, just the blackness. She picked up the flashlight  
and held it close to the stone. The flashlight revealed an only slightly  
less black, but very smooth surface. It felt and weighed like a normal,  
fist-sized rock, but the image of it made Ranma shiver. Or was that the  
cold? The morning sun had not yet warmed things up. Ranma decided to pack  
up and get down the mountain quickly. If she could get back down to Gotemba  
in the morning, there was a good chance she could sneak back into  
civilization without being noticed.

The hike downhill was easier and uneventful. She could see the town in the  
distance, and decided to leave the trail. She headed for a couple of  
buildings that were closer to the forest, giving her a better chance of  
walking into town before being seen. She walked between two of the  
buildings and nearly bumped into a police officer.

The man looked down his nose at Ranma. "Hey, little girl. Have you seen a  
young man with his hair in a pig-tail around here?"

Ranma silently shook her head.

The man held his hand out. "He's about this tall, black hair, wearing a  
Chinese outfit. Someone said they saw him heading up towards the trail."

"I'm sorry sir, I haven't seen him."

The officer grunted and walked away. For the first time she could remember,  
Ranma was thankful that she was in girl form.

Deciding that the Shinkansen was too expensive to take everywhere, Ranma  
decided to save her money and hike to the standard rail line. From there,  
she took the train to Shizuoka. Her stomach was grumbling loudly when she  
arrived, so she stopped by a yatai for some ramen. Once her stomach was  
happy, she hiked along the shore to a rocky peninsula.

She sat down and watched the waves gently splash the rocks for a while. She  
was glad the ocean was calm. The second stone would be much more dangerous  
to get to if the waves were any bigger. The tide also helped. She could  
see by the algae on the rocks that the peninsula would be completely under  
water at high tide. She took the instructions out of the pack, noticing  
that the paper was beginning to get worn. She was glad she wouldn't need it  
much longer. She read the description of the location of the second stone  
before putting the paper back into her pack. The shore on one side of the  
small peninsula was entirely made up of large boulders, creating an array of  
small caves and tide-pools. She found a suitable cave to hide her pack in  
and climbed down to the water.

There were a couple of small pools at the end of the peninsula, both  
sheltered from the waves by a pile of rocks that formed a pair of jagged  
circles. *Hey,* she thought. *That's not fair. The web page didn't say  
anything about there being more than one pool.* The two pools were about  
the same size, and contained similar amounts of kelp, starfish, and other  
aquatic life. Small fish darted in and out of the shadows of the still  
waters. She shrugged and carefully stepped into one of the pools. The  
water was cool enough to keep her in girl form. The fish disappeared into  
hiding places as she stepped around the pool, looking for a large cave. The  
rocks were slippery with algae, and she fell down a few times despite her  
excellent balance. She was more than a little frustrated when she marched  
out of the pool and yanked a strand of kelp out of her hair. *It's gotta be  
in this one,* she thought as she stepped into the second pool.

The second pool had a large, shadowy corner on the shore side. The boulder  
above it hid it from view until she stepped down to one side. *That must be  
it,* she thought, and took a deep breath before plunging underwater. She  
swam towards the corner, and could see that the corner was really the  
opening to a cave. She swam into the cave, using her hands to pull herself  
along the rock. The cave went straight in towards shore for a few meters  
before opening up into a small cavern, similar to the one in Mt. Fuji.  
Ranma could see that there was air at the top of the cavern, and surfaced to  
take a breath. She looked up, noticing that light fell through a small hole  
at the top of the cavern, less than half a meter above her head. She took  
another deep breath and felt around the walls of the cavern. She found  
nothing, and eventually had to come back up for air. There wasn't much to  
see above the water. She looked down at the surface and noticed a  
reflection of the hole in the water. As she tread water, the ripples from  
her movements made the image shimmer, but the round shape of the hole gave  
her an idea. She dove down to the bottom of the cave and dug around the  
loose rocks on the floor. She picked up the smoother rocks, looking for one  
about the same size as the black stone. Most of the rocks were jagged, but  
she still had to come up for air a couple times before she found a round  
one. She quickly brought it to the surface and looked at it. The stone was  
the same size as the first, and just as round, but instead of a deep black,  
it was a pure white. She smiled as she held the stone. She turned, and hit  
her head on the top of the cave.

She looked up and watched as she dropped away from the ceiling. The water  
level dropped, and then rose again, causing her to nearly hit her head  
again. She swam directly under the hole and looked up at the sky. The hole  
was way too small for her to fit through. She was going to have to swim  
back the way she came. Even as she thought of it, the water level in the  
cave rose a bit more, and she had to push against the ceiling to keep from  
hitting her head again. She took one last deep breath and dove for the  
underwater exit.

She quietly wished that she had brought a bag with her to keep the stone in.  
As it was, she had to hold it in one hand and pull herself along with the  
other. She found her way to the cave entrance and looked up at the surface  
of the water. It seemed to be much further away, but that was probably  
because she was running out of breath. She blew bubbles as she kicked for  
the surface. She reached the surface in time to gasp and sputter a bit.  
The tide pool wall was completely under water, and the waves were now  
breaking against the rocks with more force than before. She swam for a  
large boulder, still clutching the rock tightly in one hand. A wave picked  
her up and dropped her onto the rock, causing her to slide down the slippery  
surface as the water dropped away. A second wave pushed her back up, and  
she managed to hold on and climb to the top of the rock. She walked back to  
the small cave where she left her pack. She couldn't have waited much longer  
before the waves would have reached the cave and gotten her pack wet. She  
opened it up and looked at the two stones together for a moment before  
packing them away. Then, she shouldered her pack, climbed off the  
peninsula, and hiked back to Shizuoka.

** ** **

Ukyo quietly cooked for her evening customers. She tried not to miss Ranma.  
After all, he had only been gone for two days. She had no idea how long it  
would be before he would come back. One of her regular customers seemed to  
notice her mood. "Did you lose another helper," she asked. "I notice he  
hasn't been around this evening."

Ukyo sighed. "No, I didn't lose him. He's just on a journey. He'll be  
back."

"What about the kawaii red head? Did you ever track her down and convince  
her to come back?"

"Oh, I don't think we'll be seeing much of her."

"Why not? She seemed to enjoy it around here. Was it because of the  
previous owner?"

Ukyo sighed again, remembering Nobu. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"That's too bad. She's so young. I hope she's doing okay."

"Yeah, I hope so, too."

"She's doing great!" Ranma said as she walked up to the counter.

Ukyo jumped. "Ranma, I didn't see you come in. When did you get back?"

Ranma sat down beside the customer and put her pack on the counter. "Just  
now. I ran all the way from the Shinkansen." She puffed a bit as if to  
make her point.

The customer stood up and put her hand on Ranma's shoulder. "I'm glad you  
came back. You make such a good waitress. I hope you can stay for a while  
this time."

Ranma looked up at the customer. "Um, I dunno. We'll just have to see."

"Well then," the customer said, patting Ranma's back, "matane." He smiled  
before turning and leaving.

Ranma and Ukyo looked around the shop. A couple of customers at a table,  
the last in the restaurant, smiled and walked out. Ukyo dropped her spatula  
and jumped over the counter to hug Ranma. "I'm so glad you came back so  
soon!"

"I'm glad to be back, U-chan," Ranma replied, hugging Ukyo back. "Now,  
let's get the store closed up."

"Oh, no you don't" Ukyo stepped back, folding her arms. "You are going to  
go upstairs and unpack your room. I'm going to close the store, and then  
you are going to tell me what you've been up to these past couple days."

Ranma giggled. "Sure thing, oneesan."

================================================== =========

Chapter 3 - Separate but Equal

The next morning was the first time ever that Ranma had woken up before  
Ukyo. He jumped out of bed and landed in front of his pack, nearly tripping  
on the kettle he had used to change back into a guy the night before. He  
opened the pack and removed the two stones. He removed the instructions,  
put the paper down, and put the stones on top of it. Having gotten them out  
of the way, he tore through his pack for a clean change of clothes. He had  
changed, put the paper and stones in the basket of other ingredients, and  
was walking down the stairs with them when he heard Ukyo's door open.

He stopped and looked back up the stairs. Ukyo poked her head out and  
yawned. "Just a minute, Ranma, and I'll help." Ranma waited impatiently  
for Ukyo to get dressed. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she  
stepped down to the main floor. She took the paper out of the basket that  
Ranma was holding and read through it. "Fire and brimstone! I hope you  
don't plan to try this in _my_ store!"

"Oh, no," Ranma replied. "I was gonna go to the empty lot down the street."

"Well, you're obviously in a hurry to get this over with, so let's go."

The two stepped out of the restaurant and Ukyo locked the door. As they  
walked down the street, she could hear Ranma singing quietly to himself.  
"Never gonna be a girl again. Never gonna be a girl again..."

She smiled and looked to see if she could see much of the sunrise. As they  
passed an alley, she saw someone walking towards them. "Hey, Ranma. Didn't  
you say that Ryoga always wore a yellow bandanna?"

Ranma stopped humming to himself. "Yeah, with black rectangles on it.  
Why?"

Ukyo stopped and pointed down the alley. "Because he's right there." Ryoga  
looked up, recognized Ranma, and started running towards them.

Ranma groaned. "Oh man, why did he have to find me now. Here, hold my  
basket a sec." He gave the basket of ingredients to Ukyo and watched as  
Ryoga came closer. Ranma stepped over to meet Ryoga in the middle of the  
street, a safe distance from Ukyo and the basket. "Hey, Ryoga, what's up?"

Ryoga hefted his umbrella threateningly at Ranma. "You tried to tell Akane  
about my curse! You've crossed me for the last time! Prepare to-"

"Wait a minute there, Ryoga. I got somethin' good for ya'."

Ryoga stared at Ranma a second. "What do you want?"

"You got me all wrong, Ryoga. I have something for you. Think of it as an  
offer of friendship."

Ryoga folded his arms. "An offer of friendship? From you? It'd better be  
good."

"Oh it is." Ranma smiled and patted Ryoga's shoulder. "How interested  
would you be in a cure?"

Ryoga's hands dropped to his sides. He had to close his open mouth enough  
to talk. "Don't you toy with me, Ranma!"

"I'm serious. That's what Ukyo has in that basket over there. The  
instructions say that more than one person can be cured at a time."

Ryoga looked over Ranma's shoulder at Ukyo and the basket. Ukyo smiled and  
waved. Ryoga looked back at Ranma. "If you are trying to pull some sort of  
joke, you'll be sorry."

"Hey, Ryoga, you got even when you beat me up at the school, in front of  
everyone, but it's still my fault that you're cursed. The least I can do is  
share the cure with ya'."

"How can I trust you?"

"Ryoga, I'll be right there with ya'. I wanna get cured too, ya' know."

Ryoga regarded the two for a few seconds before relaxing a bit. "Ok. I'll  
give you a chance, but any pranks and you'll regret it."

"Relax, Ryoga," Ranma laughed, patting Ryoga's shoulder again. "This is the  
best day of our lives."

The three finished the short walk to the empty lot. Ryoga walking behind  
the two in order to keep his eye on them. It wasn't because he didn't want  
to get lost. Really.

The lot was mostly clear, save for some grass in the corners. The middle  
portion was hard, dry dirt, and there were no trees or bushes nearby. The  
lot reached from the street they were walking along to the next street over,  
so there were only two buildings bordering it, one on either side. Both of  
them were only one story tall. A perfect spot for pyrotechnics.

Ukyo put the basket down in the middle of the lot. Ranma fished the  
instructions out of the basket and looked over the last couple of  
paragraphs. He began preparing the spell, stopping only to read. The  
cherry blossoms were spread onto the ground in a circle that was about a  
meter across. The first pouch of gray powder was poured around the border  
of the circle. He emptied the pouch drawing a curved line through the  
circle, forming two symmetrical teardrop shapes. A few bags of black powder  
filled one of the curved teardrops, and a few bags of white powder filled  
the other. Ukyo helped Ranma carefully spread both colors evenly around the  
shapes, being careful to stay inside the gray lines. Ranma placed the black  
stone in the widest part of the white teardrop, and the white stone in the  
widest part of the black teardrop, completing the symbol. Ranma noticed  
that there were two pouches of gray powder left and read the instructions to  
see what to do with them. He emptied them along the curved line that  
separated the black and white sides, making a small pile in the center of  
the circle. Ukyo leafed through the empty bags in the basket and held up a  
glass vial. Inside the vial was a colorless liquid and a small, off-white  
rock. She handed the vial to Ranma, who carefully removed the cap without  
spilling any of the liquid. He carefully put the vial in the pile of gray  
powder in the center of the circle and stepped back. "Um, Ukyo, you should  
go back to the corner and watch from behind the neighbor's wall." Ukyo  
sighed and walked to the corner that Ranma had pointed to.

Ryoga looked up from the spell symbol. "What now?"

Ranma kept his eyes on the vial. "The stuff in the vial should escape into  
the air fairly quickly. We need to be ready. Stand over there, and be  
ready to duck."

Ryoga stepped to the other side of the symbol from Ranma and watched. The  
liquid in the vial evaporated quickly, exposing the small rock to air in  
less than a minute. The part of the rock that poked out of the liquid  
immediately began smoking and sputtering, causing the remaining liquid to  
boil away. Once it was free of the liquid, the rock burned brightly and  
spewed smoke out of the vial. The heat of the reaction melted the vial, and  
the rock fell through into the gray powder, which also began to burn. The  
smoke from the gray powder did not billow up into the air, like the smoke  
from the rock. It hovered and built up, never getting more than a few  
meters from the symbol.

Ukyo watched as the gray smoke built up around the two young men. She could  
clearly see where the smoke reached some sort of barrier and stopped,  
forming a kind of solid hemisphere over the middle of the yard. She could  
see both Ranma and Ryoga cough a little, but they didn't seem frightened at  
all. Soon, black and white smoke began to pour out of the symbol. The two  
shades of smoke did not mix, but swirled and spun inside the gray  
hemisphere, forming complex, curvy patterns. The gray smoke seemed to  
disappear, being replaced by the white and black smoke. The smoke grew  
thicker, and she could no longer see Ranma or Ryoga inside. Soon, it grew  
so thick that it looked like a solid dome that someone had splashed black  
and white paint on, except that the patterns were constantly changing. A  
breeze sent a chill down her back, not because it was cold, but because the  
hemisphere of smoke was not affected by the wind. She could hear the  
hissing of the burning powders stop, and began to wonder how long she should  
wait before calling out to them. Several long seconds passed, and she  
couldn't hear anything coming from the smoke.

She took a step towards it and opened her mouth to say something when a  
flash from the center of the spell blinded her. The flash was accompanied  
by a loud bang. Stunned, she closed her eyes tightly, cupping her hands  
over her ears, as she fell to her knees. She waited until the spots stopped  
swirling before trying to open her eyes. Her ears were still ringing as she  
blinked through tears to look into the yard. "Ranma, are you alright?" She  
could hear nothing over the ringing, and she could barely see well enough to  
tell that the smoke was gone. After a few seconds of not hearing an answer,  
Ukyo began crying. "Ranma! Talk to me!" She sobbed as she crawled on her  
hands and knees towards the center of the yard. "Ranma!" She was relieved  
when she heard a groan in front of her. She crawled forward and found Ranma  
laying on his back. She put her hand on his chest. "Are you ok?"

Ranma groaned again. "Did someone get the number on that truck?"

"How do you feel?" Ukyo helped Ranma sit up.

Ranma rubbed his temples and looked at Ukyo. "Ugh, I've got a splittin'  
headache. How about you?"

"I can see a little now, and the ringing is beginning to go away."

Ranma sat up. "Ringing? What happened?"

"Didn't you see the flash? Or hear the bang?"

Ranma shook his head. "I must a' passed out."

Ukyo sighed. "Well, at least you're all right." She squinted around the  
yard. The morning sun still seemed unbearably bright. "I hope my eyes get  
better. Can you see Ryoga anywhere?" They were answered by a groan, but it  
didn't sound like Ryoga. Ranma looked at the symbol. The two spheres were  
split into four pieces each, like orange slices. The black sphere shards  
sat in a teardrop of black ashes, and the white sphere shards sat in a  
teardrop of white ashes. The core of each stone was a smaller sphere of the  
opposite color. Ranma looked beyond the remains of the spell and saw Ryoga  
roll over and sit up. Ranma and Ukyo head the groan again, but it  
definitely didn't come from Ryoga. Ukyo squinted around the yard. "Who's  
there?" Ranma turned around and looked at the figure that was laying down  
behind him. She looked so familiar, but it took him a moment to realize who  
he was looking at. The figure sat up, and Ukyo was able to tell that the  
person had red hair. Ukyo rubbed her eyes and tried to blink the spots away  
so she could get a better look. Ranma silently watched as the person held  
her temples.

She groaned again. "Oooh, did someone get the number of that truck?" She  
looked at her red hair. Her eyes went wide and she looked down at her  
chest. "Oh, no!" she moaned. "It didn't work! Ukyo, I'm-" She stopped  
short as she looked up and saw the two people in front of her. She rubbed  
her eyes again and looked at the young man. "Who are you?"

The young man finally found his voice. "I'm Ranma."

She shook her head vehemently. "No, you're not. I'm..." Her voice trailed  
off as she was suddenly unsure of herself.

Ukyo, still unable to see clearly and frustrated at not being able to figure  
things out by the conversation, yelled over the ringing in her ears. "Will  
somebody tell me what happened? Who are you?"

The redhead spoke so softly, Ukyo almost couldn't understand. "I'm Ranma."

Ukyo shook her head. This wasn't making any sense. "How can both of you be  
Ranma?"

She was answered by a squeal. Ranma and Ranma looked over at Ryoga, who was  
quietly trying to soothe an angry black piglet.

** ** **

Akane knocked on the door to Nabiki's room. There was no answer. Akane  
knocked again, more loudly. There still was no answer. *That's funny,* she  
thought. *Kasumi was sure that Nabiki was in her room.* She leaned her  
head closer and could hear the muffled sounds of music. "Headphones," she  
grunted, and banged her fist on the door.

A moment later, Nabiki opened the door and looked out at Akane. "Yeah, what  
is it?"

"I'm looking for P-Chan. I haven't seen him since last night." Akane  
sighed. "I hope he hasn't wandered off."

"I'm sure he's around somewhere." Nabiki bit her lip for a second before  
saying more. "Do you remember the last time Ranma was here?"

"Yeah. He went nuts over P-Chan. He actually seemed to be jealous of the  
little piglet. Can you imagine?"

Nabiki nodded. "Oh yeah, I can imagine."

Akane looked at Nabiki wearily. "You know something, don't you?"

Nabiki put her hand on her chest. "Moi? Now what could I possibly know?"

"Come on, spill it. It's about Ranma and P-Chan, isn't it?"

Nabiki put a finger to her head. "Well, not exactly. It's kinda more about  
Ryoga and P-Chan."

Akane furrowed her brow. "Ranma was saying something about Ryoga...." Her  
voice trailed off as she tried to remember what he had said.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the front door. A few seconds  
later, Kasumi called up the stairs. "Akane, Ryoga is here to see you."

Nabiki watched Akane run down the hall and around the corner. She could  
hear her footsteps thump down the stairs. Akane's voice carried through the  
house. "Hi Ryoga. Oh, you found P-Chan! How wonderful!" Nabiki ran after  
her sister. She had to see this for herself.

** ** **

Both Ranmas and Ukyo stepped into U-chan's and sat down at the counter. The  
boy-type Ranma put the basket with the stone shards down on the counter.  
The girl-type Ranma noticed that Ukyo needed a little help finding the  
barstool. "Are you sure you're okay, U-chan?" she said.

Ukyo nodded. "I feel ok. I want to know who both of you are and what  
happened."

"Well, gee, U-chan," the boy-type Ranma said. "I dunno where she came from,  
but I'm the original."

"Don't be so sure," the girl-type Ranma replied. "From my point of view,  
the spell was a disaster. Instead of curing me, I'm now in the same cursed  
form I was trying to get rid of."

"Hey," the boy-type Ranma said. "At least it seemed to work fine for me."

The girl-type Ranma sighed sadly. "Well, I'm happy for you."

Ukyo coughed. "Ranma..."

Both Ranmas answered in unison. "Yeah?"

"No, I mean Ranma. I mean..." Ukyo held her head. "You know. One of you  
needs to change your name before I go crazy."

The boy-type Ranma answered first. "How about Ran-chan and Ran-kun?"

Ukyo thought for a bit. "Um, ... no."

The girl-type Ranma spoke quietly. "You can call me 'Ranko'."

Ukyo stared blankly at the fuzzy image of the redhead. "Are you sure?"

Ranko nodded. "I'm not sure if we're both stuck as we are. Even so, since  
I'm girl-type now, I guess I don't mind. I probably should get used to it  
sooner rather than later."

Ranma looked over Ukyo's shoulder. "Whadya mean you don't know if we're  
both stuck?"

"Well, the spell didn't really explain how it worked. It didn't say that  
we'd be separated like this. It just said that I... that we would ... get  
rid of it." Ranko looked down at her hands. "And now I might be stuck this  
way."

Ranma walked around the counter. "You don't know that. Wait a minute." He  
grabbed a large cup in the kitchen and filled it with cold water. He walked  
back out to the counter and poured it on himself. He got wet.

Ukyo blinked. "What happened?"

Ranma released a sigh of contentment. "Nothing." He walked back to the  
kitchen and filled the cup with warm water. He returned to the counter and  
poured the water onto Ranko. She got wet. Her shoulders dropped.

Ukyo looked in Ranko's general direction. "Well?"

Ranko looked up at Ukyo, and then to Ranma. She waved her hand in front of  
Ukyo's face. Ukyo moved her head a little. "What was that?"

"Ukyo," Ranko said calmly, her hands in her lap. "How many fingers am I  
holding up."

Ukyo squinted in Ranko's direction. She concentrated for a few seconds and  
then sighed. "Um, two?" Ranko sadly shook her head. Ukyo looked down at  
the floor. "I guess my eyes aren't getting much better."

Ranko took Ukyo's arm and stood up. "We need to get you to the doctor."  
Ukyo didn't resist.

Ranma helped Ranko guide Ukyo out of U-chan's. "There's the doctor the  
Tendo family goes to," he suggested. "I think I know where he is."

Ranko nodded. "Yeah, I know."

Ranma looked at Ranko. "Oh yeah. Um, ...right."

It didn't take them long to find Dr. Tofu's clinic. It was still morning,  
and they didn't have to wait long to be seen. Dr. Tofu walked up to the  
trio as his previous patient waved and left. "So, what can I do for you?"

Ranko stood up and pulled on Ukyo's arm. "We had a kind of accident."

Ukyo stood up and smiled blankly. Dr. Tofu stepped up and looked at her.  
Ukyo uncomfortably grabbed her elbow. Dr. Tofu looked Ukyo over before  
waving his hand in front of her face. He noted her reaction. "Hmm, ok.  
Why don't we come into this room..." He led Ukyo into his examination room,  
and Ranma and Ranko followed. "Can you tell me what happened with your  
eyes?"

Ranko shuffled her feet. "It's a long story."

Dr. Tofu looked at Ranma and Ranko again. "There's something familiar about  
you two. Are you related?"

Ranma answered first. "Yeah. In a way. You see, we were working on this  
spell... and I... I mean Ranko... I mean we were... um."

Ranko finished. "What he's trying to say is that he and I are the same  
person. We made a spell to try to cure our curse, and ended up like this.  
We're fine, but Ukyo saw the spell, and now she can't see very well."

Dr. Tofu looked at Ranma and Ranko for a moment, deciding to dismiss the  
discussion for the moment. He turned to Ukyo. "How close to the spell were  
you standing?"

Ukyo sighed. "Um, I dunno. I was outside the part where the smoke was."

"Would you say 10 meters? 20? 50?"

"Um, maybe 10 meters when the flash went off."

"The flash?" Dr. Tofu looked over Ukyo's face. "You would think that  
something powerful enough to blind you would have burned your face a bit at  
that range."

"It didn't feel hot."

"Close your eyes." Ukyo did. "What do you see?"

"I see shapes, swirls."

"What colors are they?"

"Black and white."

Dr. Tofu blinked. "Really? No other colors?" She shook her head. He  
turned to Ranko. "What kind of spell did you cast?"

Ranko tried to remember the name. "Um, Hanasu Tataru, or something like  
that."

"A separation spell, you say? Well, it appears to have worked. I would  
have to look at some of my books, but I would say that you probably caught  
some sort of eddy in the spell."

Ranma furrowed his brow. "Eddy?"

"If I remember correctly, separation spells usually only affect people in a  
certain area. However, the borders of the spell are not always clear, and  
the magic can cover more area than just the effects that you can see."

"You mean the smoke," Ukyo offered.

"Exactly. Even though you were standing outside the smoke, some of the  
magic of the spell probably reached beyond the smoke and got in you."

Ranko looked at Ukyo. "Wouldn't that have 'separated' her, too?"

"Not necessarily. If she was outside the smoke, she must have been far  
enough to avoid the brunt of the spell, but the flash she saw was likely to  
be more than just light."

"So," Ukyo said. "What does this mean, exactly?"

"The good news," Dr. Tofu explained, "is that there might be some sort of  
cure. I'll look through my books and see what I can find."

"What if there ain't none?" Ranma asked.

"Usually the side effects of a spell can be reversed by breaking the spell."

Ranko blinked. "You mean if Ranma and I reverse our cure Ukyo will be able  
to see again?"

"Well, there's no guarantees, of course, but that's usually how they work.  
On the other hand, this could be temporary, and wear off by itself."

Ranko sighed. "You don't sound too confident that it will."

"Well, magic of this type is usually permanent. Again, I can't say for sure  
until I find out more."

Ranko stepped over to Ukyo and held her shoulders. "Oh, U-chan, I'm so  
sorry this happened."

Ukyo took Ranko's hands in hers. "Ranma, Ranko, I want you to know that we  
can try everything else, but I don't want you to break your cure. You  
worked so hard to get rid of that curse, and it was my own fault for getting  
too close."

Ranma stared at Ukyo and Ranko quietly. *Oh, Ukyo,* he thought. *What have  
I done?*

Dr. Tofu put his hand on Ukyo's shoulder. "That's about all I can say for  
the moment. I will look through my books and tell you if I find anything."  
He turned to Ranko. "Now, why on earth would you want to do this to  
yourself?"

Ranko fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well, it's kind of a long story..."

** ** **

By the time the trio got back to U-chan's, it was almost lunch. A number of  
customers were standing around the front door, peering inside to see what  
was going on. Ranko apologized to them, unlocked the door, and helped Ukyo  
in. Ukyo stopped in the doorway and turned around. "I've been in a little  
accident, but I'm ok. I don't want to abandon the people who have done so  
much for U-chan's. We will do our best to serve you as we have in the  
past."

There were several supportive voices from the crowd as the three stepped  
inside. Ranma turned on the "OPEN" sign and propped the door open. The  
customers filed in and sat themselves as Ranma and Ranko helped Ukyo into  
the kitchen. Ranma took Ukyo's hand. "You sure you wanna try this?"

Ukyo nodded. "We don't know how long I'll be this way. We might as well  
start dealing with it now."

"Yeah," Ranko added. "We can handle this."

"I know _we_ can," Ranma replied. "But who's gonna cook?"

Ranko stepped up behind Ukyo. "I will, and Ukyo will help me."

Ukyo smiled. "Well, let's not keep our hungry customers waiting. Ranma,  
could you get the counter ready?" Ranma patted Ukyo's shoulder and walked  
out of the kitchen. "Ranko, Ranma usually helped me start by getting one of  
those bags of flour."

Ranko hefted a bag. "I know Ukyo. It's me, remember?"

Ukyo snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah. You know, it's not that difficult to  
remember who you are when you two are separated, but when you're together, I  
keep thinking that you're someone else."

"So you think that Ranma is the original, and that I'm some sort of copy? A  
fake?"

"Oh Ranko, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way."

"That's all right. I thought the cure would help me get rid of my  
girl-type. Instead, I'm stuck with it." Ranko sighed. "At least I don't  
have to worry about changing back and forth."

Ukyo reached out and patted Ranko's back. "Come on, Ranko. Let's go see  
how well you can cook."

Ranko smiled a wry grin. "Remember who you're talking to."

"Well, we have to start somewhere."

Lunch went by without any major disasters. Even under Ukyo's guidance,  
Ranko burned a few orders, but most of the customers said that her cooking  
wasn't half bad. The evening customers were even more positive. A number  
of them recognized Ranko from the time the restaurant belonged to Nobu.  
They were happy to see her back. Ukyo was surprised at how quickly Ranko  
seemed to take to the Kounji School of Okonomyaki. Then she remembered  
again that Ranko was really Ranma. A Ranma. One of the Ranmas. She sighed  
and bumped into the doorway. This was going to take some time to get used  
to.

At the end of the day, Ranma and Ranko closed the restaurant and quickly had  
the place cleaned and ready for the next day. Ukyo sat at the bottom of the  
stairway, feeling a bit helpless. She was happy to see, um... hear, that  
the two could finish things up at least as quickly as she had with Ranma in  
the past.

Ranko kneeled in front of Ukyo. "Well, we got the place cleaned. The dishes  
are put away. The money in the register is counted. We're ready for  
tomorrow."

Ukyo blinked. It didn't help. "You counted out the register and put the  
dishes away, too?"

"I know you usually deal with that in the mornings, but I thought it might  
help to get ahead in the chores for once."

Ukyo smiled. "Sugar, I would love to teach you how to handle a _real_  
spatula."

"I'll take that as an offer and accept. The Kounji School of Okonomyaki  
isn't complete without knowing how to handle that thing." Ranko thought a  
bit, looking at the battle spatula that hung behind the counter. The  
formidable weapon had been hung beneath the menu since Ukyo changed the name  
of the restaurant. "In fact, I look forward to it."

================================================== =========

Chapter 4 - Black and White

Ryoga soaked in the furo, lazily petting the black piglet that sat on the  
edge of the tub. He scratched behind P-Chan's ear. P-Chan grunted in  
pleasure. Ryoga stared blankly into space. "What am I going to do?"

P-Chan blinked at Ryoga and bweed a reply.

Ryoga looked at P-Chan. "Well, that's easy for you to say. You can stay  
here as Akane's pet without a problem. I just can't stay here and live off  
them, but I can't get a job and expect to find my way there and back again."  
Ryoga and P-Chan sighed together. Ryoga resumed stroking behind P-Chan's  
ears. "You know, I thought that being cured would solve all my problems.  
Now it looks like my cursed form is the one that has it easy." P-Chan  
looked to Ryoga with wet eyes and grunted sadly.

At the far corner of the house was a knock at the front door. Nabiki jumped  
from her seat at the table. "I'll get it, Kasumi."

Kasumi, who was about to stand up, relaxed back down and sipped her tea.  
"Thank you."

Nabiki walked down the hall and slid open the door. "I was right," she said  
to Ranma. "I just knew you would be by here sooner or later."

Ranma stood in the doorway, blinking. "What dya mean, Nabiki? I've visited  
Akane here before."

Nabiki peered down her nose at Ranma. "You have some explaining to do,  
mister. I don't take kindly to being lied to. Neither does Akane."

Ranma was speechless. He was used to not being able to explain, but he had  
never been accused of outright lying before. He finally found his voice.  
"Wha... what... why... um, huh?"

"Come with me." Nabiki led Ranma around the side of the house to the door  
to the tea room, pointing to the rock path that led to the pond. "Wait  
here." Nabiki disappeared into the house. Ranma could hear her walk down  
the hall and knock on the door near the end. Her muffled voice drifted  
across the house. "Hey, are you about done in there? There's someone here  
to see you two." Ranma heard a voice reply, but he couldn't make out who it  
was or what they said. Nabiki, apparently satisfied, walked back to the tea  
room and sat down beside Kasumi at the table. The two girls sipped their  
tea quietly without looking up at Ranma.

Ranma shivered from his spot on the rock path. *What the heck is going on?*

After a couple minutes, he heard the door down the hall open and close.  
Footsteps approached from the far side of the tea room. Ranma's jaw dropped  
as he saw Ryoga carry P-Chan around the corner and sit down at the table,  
facing away from Ranma. Kasumi quietly handed Ryoga a bowl of rice. Nabiki  
leveled a predatory gaze in Ranma's direction. "Well, Ranma?"

Ryoga turned around, noticing Ranma. "Oh, hi Ranma. How's it going?"

Ranma stared at Ryoga. "Ry... Ryoga. What are you doing here?"

Ryoga smiled. "I found P-Chan. I thought Akane might be looking for him."

"You... you thought Akane..."

Ryoga stood up and carried P-Chan over to the rock path. P-Chan growled at  
Ranma. "She needs someone who will take care of her and make her happy, not  
someone who hurts her feelings by cheating on her and telling her lies."

Ranma's fists shook at his sides. He trembled with anger, and a growl rose  
out of his throat. "Ryoga, after what I did for you, you do this?"

"I consider us even," Ryoga said smugly. "What I did here was for Akane's  
sake."

Ranma dropped into a stance. "Well, then, put the pig down, Ryoga. It's  
time for a re-match."

Akane walked into the tea room and looked at the two young men standing  
outside. "What's going on?"

Ranma didn't take his eyes of Ryoga, but spoke to Akane. "I wanna talk to  
you, Akane, but Ryoga and I have a score to settle first."

"But Ranma," Akane pleaded, carrying P-Chan back into the tea room. "The  
last time you fought Ryoga, you got hurt."

Ranma's anger continued to build. "Aw, Ryoga only beat me once. I've  
fought him since then, and he didn't beat me."

"That fight wasn't finished," Ryoga yelled, "and you know it!"

"Ryoga," Akane scolded. "Don't pick on those weaker than you."

Ranma scowled. "That's it! I'll show you who's weak!" He took a step,  
putting Ryoga within reach. "Kachu tenshin amaguriken!" Ranma's hands  
became a blur. Ryoga blocked a number of the punches, but a good number of  
them got through. Ranma put most of his power into hitting the same spot in  
Ryoga's stomach as quickly as he could. Ryoga was sliding backwards from  
the force of Ranma's blows, but he didn't appear to be getting hurt. The  
three Tendo women watched as Ranma forced Ryoga back against the wall beside  
the door to the tea room. He pounded Ryoga another twenty times or so for  
good measure before throwing a roundhouse kick to Ryoga's head. Ryoga  
cart-wheeled across the doorway from the force of the kick.

Akane blinked at Ranma's attack. She had forgotten what he had learned in  
Joketsuzoku since Ryoga's triumph over him.

Nabiki turned to Kasumi. Kasumi smiled back. "Two batches."

Nabiki didn't flinch. "Two batches and half a batch uncooked dough."

Ryoga stood up, holding his stomach. "Nice try, Ranma. Cologne's training  
has made me invincible." He jumped back to Ranma. "Bakusai tenketsu!"

Ranma caught Ryoga's hand mere centimeters from his chest. He stretched his  
leg vertically, connecting with Ryoga's chin on the way up. Ryoga was sent  
skyward by the blow.

Kasumi turned her cup of tea casually. "Two batches, uncooked dough, and a  
bar of chocolate."

Ryoga landed in the pond and jumped out. He paused a moment as he realized  
he didn't change, then jumped into the air, kicking at Ranma's head. Ranma  
blocked the blow, the force sending him back on the rock path. Ryoga  
landed, spun, and threw his fist at Ranma's chest. He connected, and Ranma  
flew back and landed in the pond.

Nabiki watched with interest. "Special dark chocolate."

All three women stared in shock as Ranma jumped out of the pond, unchanged.  
Ryoga threw another bakusai tenketsu punch to Ranma's head and connected.  
Ranma watched in horror as Ryoga's outstretched finger hit him between the  
eyes. He batted Ryoga's hand away and waited to see what it would feel like  
to have his head explode at the breaking point. The both of them stood,  
waiting, for a few seconds. Nothing happened.

*I hit his breaking point,* Ryoga thought. *Why didn't it work?* He  
blinked, and Ranma leapt into the air. Ryoga jumped up to meet him with his  
foot. Ranma twisted and caught Ryoga's foot. Ranma tucked, sending both of  
them tumbling. He twisted Ryoga's leg and stood on his back. Ryoga landed  
on his stomach, Ranma standing on top of him. Ranma put his hands on his  
knees and peeked at Ryoga's face. Out cold.

Nabiki snapped her chopsticks in her rice bowl. Kasumi smiled at her  
younger sister before getting up and walking into the kitchen. Nabiki  
grumbled something unintelligible.

P-Chan shrieked pure rage as Ranma stepped off Ryoga. The piglet launched  
himself out of Akane's arms, aiming for Ranma's head. Ranma snatched P-Chan  
out of the air by his collar. The piglet flailed helplessly as Ranma held  
him at arm's length. Ranma triumphantly stepped into the house, holding  
P-Chan up to Akane. "I will explain only after you get this waishou buta  
out of my sight."

Akane was impressed with Ranma's quick victory as well as curious about what  
he had to say. She took the piglet and ran upstairs. She quickly came  
back, empty handed.

Nabiki, however, was less than enthused. "Ok, Ranma, you said you had an  
explanation. Out with it."

Ranma sat down at the table. Kasumi returned with a small tray. "Ranma,  
please have some rice and tea," she said sweetly, placing the tray down in  
front of him.

Ranma gratefully took a sip of tea. "Thanks, Kasumi." He took a couple  
quick mouthfuls of rice before turning back to Akane. "Akane, I said it  
before, and I stand by my word. P-Chan and Ryoga are the same person."

Nabiki kept her voice level. "Call it intuition. Either that, or the fact  
that Ryoga's unconscious just outside the door and P-Chan is squealing  
angrily in Akane's bedroom. Either way, I find your accusation hard to  
believe."

Ranma sighed. "Look, I found this cure. A spell called Hanasu Tataru. It  
was supposed to cure me of my curse. Instead, it split me into two separate  
but equal parts. Except that the other me is a girl."

Akane folded her arms and nodded towards the pond. "Ok, we can see that  
you're not cursed, but what does that have to do with Ryoga?"

"I let Ryoga try the cure with me. He got split, too."

Akane furrowed her brow. "You hate Ryoga. Why would you do that for him?"

"I don't hate Ryoga, at least I didn't. I hoped that we could be friends  
again. Besides, the spell could handle both of us fine." Ranma looked down  
at the floor. "And, it was kinda my fault that he got cursed to begin  
with."

Nabiki propped her head up on the palm of her hand, her elbow on the table.  
"This should be good."

Ranma ignored Nabiki and turned to Akane. "Remember when he complained  
about that stupid bread thing?" Akane nodded. "Well, he followed me,  
right?" She nodded again. "The old man and I went to Jusenkyo _after_  
Ryoga started followin' me."

Akane shrugged. "I don't get it. How is that your fault?"

"It isn't, but the old man and I were fighting after we fell in. I rushed  
past Ryoga and accidentally knocked him into the spring of drowned piglet."

"That all sounds convenient," Nabiki conceded. "So, where's your better  
half?"

Ranma sighed. "She stayed at U-Chan's to take care of Ukyo."

Akane blinked. "What happened to Ukyo?"

"She got some of the magic of the spell. She don't see so well, now."

Nabiki grunted. "That all sounds convenient, considering you don't have any  
evidence with you."

Akane nodded. "Yeah. It's kinda hard to take you for your word when  
everything I see says you're wrong."

Ranma clenched his fists. "Jeez, just come to U-Chan's and see for  
yourself, then!"

Akane shook her head. "Why should I, Ranma? So that you can string me  
along until the next kawaii girl comes up to you and bats her eyes?"

Ranma's face got red. He stood up and silently walked towards the front  
door. He slid open the door to the tea room, stood silently in front of the  
door for a couple seconds, and then closed the door again. He turned  
around. "I'm not going to leave. You may not believe me, but I'm not going  
to give up." He looked up at Akane. "Akane, I chose you over Shampoo,  
didn't I?"

"You had to think about it. What about Kodachi?"

Ranma wrinkled his nose. "I don't wanna get anywhere near that crazy chick.  
I ain't goin' to that rhythmic gymnastics thing next week." He sighed.  
"Look, just come to U-Chan's. I'll get you some lunch."

Nabiki stood up and faced Ranma. "I'm coming, too. I've lost a lot of  
dough to you today. I want to see this double of yours for myself."

** ** **

Ranko and Ukyo were in Ranma's bedroom. Ranko waved vaguely around the  
room. "Well, I don't see why we can't just put another futon in the corner  
there."

Ukyo looked at Ranko. "Are you sure you'd rather sleep in here with him?"

Ranko shrugged her shoulders. "It'd be like sleeping next to a mirror. I'd  
feel more comfortable than I would sleeping in the same room as you. No  
offence, U-chan, but despite how I look, I still feel like a guy."

Ukyo sighed. They heard the front door open. Ranko led Ukyo down the  
stairs. Ranma motioned for Nabiki and Akane sit down at the counter. Both  
young women did double-takes when Ranko stepped down the stairs, holding  
Ukyo's arm to guide her. Ranko stopped behind the counter. Ukyo blinked  
her eyes and squinted at Akane and Nabiki. "Um, hello..."

Ranko smiled. "Hi Akane, Nabiki. I suppose you've heard about that great  
cure I found, ne?"

Ukyo smiled blankly. "Oh, hi Akane. Is Nabiki one of your sisters?"

Akane nodded. After a few seconds, Ukyo's smile faded a bit. "Um, is she?"

Akane blushed. "Um, yeah."

Nabiki held her hand out. "Pleased to meet you, Ukyo."

Ukyo bowed. "Hello, welcome to U-Chan's."

Ranma sighed gratefully. "Now, do you see?"

Ranko looked at the expression on Akane's face. She turned to Ranma. "Uh,  
Ranma, could you take care of Ukyo and entertain Nabiki?" Ranma nodded, and  
Akane followed Ranko back into the kitchen.

Ranko fidgeted for a moment while Akane stared. "It's still me, Akane.  
Just... stuck as a girl. Call me Ranko. Saves on confusion."

Akane thought for a moment, then sighed and nodded. "Ok, Ranko. What is  
this about?"

"Akane, Ranma and I were literally the same person up until yesterday  
morning." Ranko sighed. "I'm just realizing that being stuck as a girl  
means that you and I can only ever have a friendship."

Akane blinked. "What are you saying?"

Ranko regarded Akane for a moment. "What happened at your house?"

"Ranma beat up Ryoga."

Ranko shook her head sadly. "I thought he might find trouble. That place  
has been nothing but trouble for me... for us." She closed her eyes and  
sighed before looking at Akane again. "Why do you think he went over  
there?"

Akane blinked. "He wanted to convince us that he wasn't lying about Ryoga  
and P-Chan."

"And why would he care about Ryoga and P-Chan?"

Akane shrugged.

"Why do you think he gets jealous of that piglet? Why did I... why did we  
pick you over Shampoo?"

"Because our parents arranged us to be married. You want to keep your honor  
in the-"

"What did you say?"

"...Because our parents-"

"Because who?"

Akane looked at Ranko a moment. "Our parents."

"I don't know why people can't remember. He and I have no parents. I don't  
care what that stupid old man arranged."

Akane shrugged. "I give up then. Why?"

Ranko sighed. "Because when you're not being so stubborn, hot-headed, thick  
as a mule, uncute-"

"Get to the point, Ranma," Akane growled between her teeth.

Ranko put her finger up, but decided against correcting Akane. Instead, she  
sighed and continued. "The first time I came to your house, I was a little  
scared. I wasn't given the warmest welcome, either." She put her hand on  
Akane's shoulder. "But you offered me friendship. Twice more since then,  
when I really needed help, you were there for me. I don't forget favors  
like that."

Akane grunted. "So, that's all it is to you? A couple of favors?"

Ranko stepped closer to her. "I don't know, Akane. Is there more to you  
than helping people when they're in need? I haven't really been able to  
find out. I know that Ranma wants to find out."

Akane folded her arms. "What about what I want?"

Ranko looked hurt. "If you don't care about me... or him, then you should  
say so. He will leave you alone if you ask him to. He may not like it, but  
he will."

Akane opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, but no sounds came out.

Ranko sighed. "Look, if you want to give it a try, you need to listen to  
him. I don't know how many times I've wanted to explain something to you  
when you wouldn't even give me a chance. When you see something you don't  
like, whether it's my fault or not, you just lash out at me. Next time,  
count to ten, ok?"

Akane nodded. "I don't mean to be such an angry person sometimes. It just  
happens."

Ranko folded her arms. "Would you lash out at Kasumi if it looked like she  
did something wrong?"

Akane looked shocked. "I could never hit my sister."

"Even if she did something to make you angry?"

Akane shook her head. "She's my sister."

"Then please remember this: I used to be considered 'almost family' not too  
long ago. When I left that house, it was you who came after me. If that's  
still what you want, you need to give him a chance."

Akane looked off into space. "Ya' know, it was not long ago that Kasumi  
asked me never to hit someone out of anger again." She sighed. "I think  
I've already broken that promise a couple times."

Ranko regarded Akane for a moment. "Maybe you should decide if that is the  
kind of person you want to be." Ranko paused a second and walked out of the  
kitchen.

As she stepped to Ukyo's side, she overheard the last part of Nabiki's  
sentence. "...just lost a bet to you, Ranma, and now I see you were telling  
the truth. I promise I will not underestimate you again."

Ranma shuffled uneasily under what appeared to be praise. Ukyo leaned  
against the counter. "Ya know, you two are welcome to stay for lunch. On  
the house."

"A free lunch?" Akane asked from the doorway to the kitchen. "Sounds good  
to me."

"It's not free," Nabiki complained. "It's already cost me two and a half  
batches worth of chocolate chip cookie dough."

"And some special dark chocolate," Akane cheerfully reminded. She turned to  
Ranma. "In return, we could invite the three of you to dinner tonight. On  
the house."

Ranma squirmed a bit. "At your house?" Akane had to remind herself what  
Ranko had just said about their feelings for the Tendo home. She didn't see  
Ranma and Ranko exchange glances, or Ranko's wink.

Ranko put her hand on Ukyo's shoulder. Ukyo smiled. "We would love to."

** ** **

Akane was cutting the pork while Kasumi handed the dinner plates to Nabiki.  
"Now, remember, Nabiki, this is probably our last chance to show Ranma and  
Ukyo what Tendo hospitality is really like."

Nabiki took the plates. "Are you insinuating that _moi_ could be causing  
any trouble?

"Of course not," Kasumi chimed cheerfully. "You wouldn't want anything to  
sabotage Akane's chances with Ranma."

Nabiki nodded silently before carrying the dishes into the tea room.

Soun stepped into the kitchen. "How is dinner going?"

Kasumi smiled cheerfully. "Just fine, father. Akane is helping me."

Her father suppressed a whimper. He swallowed hard. "And, we're having  
guests?"

Akane pointed a rather large knife at the doorway. "Relax, Dad, I'm only  
cutting stuff."

"And she'll help toss the salad, too," Kasumi added.

Soun relaxed a little. "I suppose that's ok, as long as she doesn't  
actually-"

"Watch it, Dad."

Soun looked again at the large, shiny knife and left the kitchen.

By the time Akane was done tossing the salad, the rest of dinner was ready.  
She helped Kasumi put the food out on the table. The teriyaki pork rested  
on a bed of rice. The shrimp and crab were nestled in lettuce. Small bowls  
of rice and miso soup sat at each place. The knock at the door came at the  
perfect time.

Akane ran down the hall to the front door. She opened the door for Ukyo,  
Ranko, and Ranma. "Konbanwa. Welcome to the Tendo home."

"Wow," Ranko chirped. "I almost feel underdressed."

"Don't be silly," Akane said cheerfully. "Come inside and make yourselves  
at home." She led them to the tea room, where Kasumi was putting finishing  
touches on the presentation of dinner.

Both Kasumi and Akane smiled at the expressions made upon seeing dinner laid  
out before them. Ranma blurted out a "Wow."

Ranko smiled, eyes wide. Ukyo stared blankly into space, a polite grin on  
her lips. Ranko turned to Ukyo, holding her arm. "You should see it,  
U-chan. They've got teriyaki pork, shrimp and crab, rice, and miso soup for  
us. It looks so beautiful."

Ukyo's smile widened. "I wish I could see it. I bet it's delicious."

They waited until Soun had entered the room and sat down. Kasumi, Nabiki,  
and Akane sat along one side, then Ranma, Ukyo, and Ranko sat on the other  
side. As they began to eat, Ranma was one of the first to speak. "Wow,  
Kasumi. It's delicious."

"Thank you, Ranma. Akane helped."

Soun coughed a bit, but recovered quickly. Ranma and Ranko stopped and  
looked at their plates. Ukyo, noticing the change in eating noises, tilted  
her head. "What's wrong about Akane cooking?"

All eyes turned to Akane. No one dared speak. Ranko smiled as she heard  
Akane whispering to herself. "Ichi, ni, san, shi..." A few more seconds  
later, Akane replied. "I haven't been exactly the best cook."

Ukyo tasted another sample. "Well, this pork is delicious."

Ranko snapped her chopsticks, as if she suddenly realized something. She  
looked uneasily at Akane. "Um, Akane, this pork isn't..." She couldn't  
bring herself to finish.

Akane's eyes went wide. "Of course not. Ryoga and P-Chan were gone when we  
got back."

Ranko relaxed. "Of course. I'm sorry for even thinking it."

Akane smiled. "Don't worry about it. Here, have another pair of  
chopsticks." She handed Ranko an extra set.

Nabiki looked over at Ranma. "What do you think, Ranma?"

Ranma was busy stuffing his face, and took a moment to swallow his food.  
"It's great."

Ranko watched Ukyo put her chopsticks down. "What is it, U-chan?"

Ukyo smiled, picking them up again. "Nothing." She began eating again.  
Ranko, satisfied for the moment that Ukyo was fine, continued eating as  
well.

** ** **

"Man, I am stuffed." Ranma rubbed his stomach as the trio walked back to  
U-chan's.

Ukyo smiled. "You gotta admit that it was nice at the Tendo home this  
time."

"I was just waitin' for some disaster to happen."

Ranko frowned and studied Ukyo's expression. She tugged on Ukyo's arm,  
pulling her to a stop. "U-chan, how do you feel?"

Ukyo smiled. "I feel fine, Ranko." They continued walking, Ranko studying  
Ukyo as well as guiding her. She was ready to catch her when Ukyo  
collapsed.

================================================== =========

Chapter 5 - Now and Then

Ranko banged nervously on the door to Dr. Tofu's clinic. After what seemed  
like forever, Dr. Tofu opened the door. Ranko began to explain. "I'm  
really sorry to bother you, Dr. Tofu, but -"

"That is quite alright," Dr. Tofu explained. "Evening calls are part of  
being a doctor. Let's get Ukyo in and take a look."

Ranma carried Ukyo into the clinic and over to the exam room. He gently put  
her down on the table that Dr. Tofu indicated. Ranma and Ranko stood  
nervously as Dr. Tofu examined Ukyo. After the examination, Dr. Tofu  
stepped over to Ukyo's feet and pressed a spot on the bottom of her right  
foot. Ukyo stirred, moaning gently and putting her hand to her head. Ranma  
and Ranko both released a sigh of relief. Ukyo rubbed her temple and sat  
up, opening her eyes. Ranko held her breath.

Dr. Tofu put a hand on Ukyo's shoulder. Ukyo jumped. "Who's there? Whe..  
where am I?"

Dr. Tofu waved his hand in front of Ukyo's face. No reaction. "I'm Dr.  
Tofu. You're in my clinic. How is your vision?"

"Um, it's not bad..."

Dr. Tofu held his hand up in front of Ukyo. "How many fingers am I holding  
up?"

Ukyo sighed and shook her head quietly.

Dr. Tofu put his hand down. "How well can you see, Ukyo?"

Ukyo hung her head. "I... I can't see ... anything."

"You can't see anything at all?"

"Well, it's just all gray."

"No more shapes and swirls?"

Ukyo sadly shook her head.

Ranko suppressed a sob. "What does it mean, Dr. Tofu?"

Dr. Tofu turned to Ranko. "The magic in her is growing stronger. The fact  
that she saw black and white at first and sees gray now means that the magic  
she has is opposed to the separation spell."

Ranma furrowed his brow. "Opposed to the spell?"

"Anti-magic?" Ranko suggested.

"Not exactly," Dr. Tofu explained. "The magic in Ukyo is the same magic in  
your spell. But when it became separated from the spell, it began to oppose  
the separation."

Ranko put a finger to her head. "You mean that the separation spell lost  
some magic to Ukyo, and the magic that got separated from the separation  
spell didn't like being separated and so it is no longer a separate  
separation spell but a separate ... um... combination spell?"

Dr. Tofu nodded. "Basically, yes."

Ranma stared at Ranko. "What?"

Ranko turned to Ranma. "The magic in the separa-"

Ranma waved his hand. "Never mind. Dr. Tofu, what can we do about it?"

Dr. Tofu sat down in his chair. "I've look through all of my books. None  
of them say anything about cures besides breaking the spell."

Ukyo put her hand out. "Ranma, don't do it." She grunted and put her hands  
to her temples. Her eyes shut tight in pain. A small moan escaped her  
lips.

Dr. Tofu shook his head grimly. "She's just going to get worse until the  
spell is broken."

Ranko looked at her friend. "Oh, Ukyo. I'm so sorry."

Ranma stared at the floor. *I can't believe this is happening. I worked so  
hard to get rid of this curse.*

Ranko saw Ranma's dilemma. She turned to him. "Ranma, you know what we  
have to do."

Ukyo moaned. "No, don't."

Ranma shook his head violently. "No! Ukyo doesn't want me to! I can't!"

Ranko put her hand on Ranma's shoulder. "I don't want to give this up any  
more than you do, but we can't let Ukyo stay like this."

Ukyo tried to sit up. "No."

Ranma batted Ranko's hand away. "You! You just don't wanna be stuck as a  
girl!"

Ranko grabbed Ranma's arm, twisting it behind him. She turned him and  
shoved him close to Ukyo. "This is not about me, Ranma! This is about our  
only family!"

Ranma looked at Ukyo. Her tear-stained cheeks. Her short, shallow  
breathing. She was in so much pain. Ranma closed his eyes and held his  
hand in front of him, making a tight fist. "We have to break the spell."

Ranko nodded her head solemnly. "Yes, for Ukyo." She thought for a moment.  
"But, what about Ryoga?"

Dr. Tofu looked at Ranko. "Who is Ryoga?"

"He shared the spell with us."

Dr. Tofu nodded. "Then, he will have to break the spell as well. In order  
for Ukyo to be cured, the spell must be completely broken."

Ranma turned around and pulled Ranko's arm. "Well, what are we waiting for?  
Let's go get him."

Ranko put her hand out. "Wait a minute, Ranma. How are we going to find  
Ryoga?"

Ranma's mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sounds came out.

Ranko shook her head sadly. A small tear fell as she looked back at Ukyo.  
Ukyo, who was curled up into a fetal position, moaned quietly and tipped  
over to her side.

** ** **

Ranko jumped up, catching the branch and hanging from it. *I hope Ukyo  
isn't any worse,* she thought as she swung up and sat on the branch. *Dr.  
Tofu sure was nice to look after her.* She reached up and grabbed the next  
branch, climbing up onto it. She peeked out through the leaves at the park.  
The lights had just turned on. *I don't know if we'll be able to find Ryoga  
tonight.* She sighed and resumed her climbing. *I don't know if he's even  
in Nerima right now.*

When she reached about as high as the branches would let her, she pushed the  
leaves aside and looked at the streets around her. There were couples  
strolling in the park. There were couples in boats in the nearby pond. She  
could even see as far as the Furinkan High School playing field, which was  
empty.

** ** **

Ranma stood at the rooftop, looking down at the streets below. At this time  
in the evening, most of the people that were still out on the streets were  
couples and families. Each time he saw a lone man, he would leap along the  
rooftops for a closer look, only to find that the person was not Ryoga. He  
had already made a full circle of Nerima, leaping rooftop to rooftop, and  
was getting nowhere fast.

Suddenly he stopped, nearly sliding down the tiles as he landed. *I know  
where he could be!* He turned and headed towards the Tendo home. He got  
there in record time, landing on the porch and knocking on the door.

Kasumi answered the door. "Oh, hi Ranma. Is there something wrong?"

Ranma took a deep breath before explaining. "Yeah. I need to find Ryoga  
and P-Chan. It's really important."

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen him since before lunch. You can go ask Akane if  
she's seen either of them, though. She's up in her room."

"Thanks, Kasumi," Ranma called behind himself as he bounded up the stairs.  
He knocked impatiently at the door with the yellow, wooden duck.

Akane opened the door and blinked at Ranma. "Ranma, you're back. What's  
wrong?"

"Akane, Ukyo is getting worse. I gotta find Ryoga and P-Chan so we can  
break the spell. It's the only way to help Ukyo."

Akane held her hands at her chest. "I'm so sorry, Ranma. I haven't seen  
either of them since we left for U-chan's. Let me help you look for them."

Ranma nodded, and the two of them ran out of the house.

** ** **

Ranko surveyed the surrounding streets from the top of another tree. By  
this time, the streets were nearly deserted. She only counted a few people  
out over the handful of blocks she could see. *I'm going about this the  
wrong way,* she thought. *What would Ryoga be doing at this time of night?*  
She let herself down out of the tree, trying to decide if Ryoga would be  
smart enough to put down for the night or if he would keep going. *Knowing  
Ryoga, he would probably push on. If he knows that Akane knows about him  
and P-Chan, he's going to want to put as much distance between himself and  
Akane as he can.*

She dropped down to the ground and walked across the street, looking at the  
canal. She wasn't far from the bridge where she had considered ending it  
all. She realized that that low point in her life happened only a couple of  
months ago. It seemed like so much longer. She had lost a friend, been  
dragged to China and drugged, and found a cure. And lost the cure. She had  
to remind herself that the cure was essentially already gone, as soon as she  
and her male half could locate Ryoga and P-Chan.

She walked to the bridge, stopping at the same spot that Ukyo had saved her  
not that long ago. She put her hands on the railing and looked over the  
edge. The water was calm and smooth, reflecting the moonlight in the  
rippled mirror surface. This was where Ukyo had saved her. Her friend from  
a lifetime ago had accepted her for what she was, and now Ukyo was paying  
the price for her attempt to separate herself from her curse. Separate.  
The word itself now seemed like a curse. She didn't want to be separated  
from Ukyo. Her only family meant too much to her. A small tear escaped as  
she remembered that she still had not completely unpacked her bag from her  
journey to find the cure. She was tired of being pushed into things she  
didn't want. She was tired of being misunderstood. She felt a growing  
longing to hang on tight to the one good thing that she had found. She felt  
an overwhelming desire to return to that place.

She looked down the street. As she walked, images began pouring out of her  
memories. Images of pouring rain. Ukyo smiling at her. Nobu letting them  
in for the night. The near disaster with the warm mop water. The dance.  
The last dance. She never told Nobu of her curse, and now she regretted it.  
She looked up, noticing the dark restaurant in front of her. The darkness  
of the sign "U-chan's" made her shiver. Some small animal stepped on her  
foot.

She blinked and looked down. A little black piglet continued on down the  
street, apparently not noticing she was there. She looked around in time to  
see Ryoga walk up, bumping in to her. Both of them blinked at each other  
for a second. Ranko managed to speak. "Ryoga."

Ryoga took his umbrella from his pack and held it ready. Ranko heard an  
angry squeal from behind her. Ryoga pointed the umbrella threateningly at  
Ranko. "You're coming with me."

** ** **

Ranma and Akane sadly walked back into the Tendo home. Kasumi had some warm  
tea ready for them. She watched the two sit down at the table, quietly  
ignoring the tea. In fact, it occurred to Kasumi that this was the quietest  
that she had ever seen the two be together. "I take it you didn't find  
them?"

Akane shook her head. Ranma looked up and sighed. "Knowin' Ryoga, he could  
be halfway to Alaska by now."

Kasumi thought a minute. "Alaska? But, that's..." He voice trailed off as  
she saw Ranma's expression.

Akane sniffed. "Poor Ukyo. I wish I could be more of a help." Ranma  
looked at Akane. She looked back at him, nor sure of what to think about  
his expression. "What?"

Ranma opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.  
Kasumi put her hand on Akane's shoulder. "I'll get that."

Akane looked back to Ranma, who was now looking out over the pond. The last  
hints of a sunset were still coloring the sky. Both of them overheard  
Kasumi's voice as it echoed down the hall. "Oh, hello there. ... Ranma?  
You're in luck. He just came back with Akane." Both of them stood up  
expectantly, but were surprised when Kasumi walked into the tea room alone.

Akane looked at her older sister. "Who was it, oneechan?"

Kasumi grabbed Akane's hands. "Akane, could you come with me to your room  
for a while?"

Akane shook her head, confused. "I want to help Ranma and Ukyo. And  
Ranko."

Kasumi pulled Akane towards the hall. "You can help them by going to your  
room and leaving them alone. You can watch out the window, but I don't want  
you interfering."

Akane, unable to disobey her old sister as well as willing to help, sadly  
allowed Kasumi to take her upstairs. Ranma heard a noise from outside and  
stepped down towards the pond. He looked down the side yard to see Ranko  
leading Ryoga and P-Chan in his direction. Ranma noticed that Ryoga and  
P-Chan were coming willingly. He waited impatiently for them to walk the  
short distance to him.

Ryoga was the first to talk. "You'd better be serious about breaking the  
spell, Ranma."

Ranma blinked. "What did you say?"

Ranko stepped up. "Relax, Ranma. Since P-Chan can't be Akane's pet  
anymore, Ryoga wants the spell broken as well." Ranma noticed that Ranko  
was carrying the basket they had used to carry the bags used to make the  
spell. The instructions and the shards were still in the basket.

Ranma looked back at Ryoga, noticing how he was carrying P-Chan. P-Chan  
bristled at the sight of Ranma, but Ryoga's calm hand soothed him. Ryoga  
looked back up at Ranma. "Being Akane's pet was the only thing P-Chan had  
to live for. I can't allow a part of me to be stuck that way, even if that  
means that I have to put up with changing. I don't care what you two do,  
but I am going to break that spell on me."

Ranma glared at Ryoga for a moment before looking over to Ranko. "What did  
that page say about the spell?"

Ryoga's face got red. "Don't tell me you don't know how to break the  
spell!"

Ranko waved her hand. "Settle down, Ryoga. Why did you think I took the  
time to get this?" Ryoga looked back to Ranko with a blank expression.  
Ranko put the basket down. "Never mind, Ryoga. Ranma, we're still missing  
someone."

Ranma nodded. "Ukyo."

"That's right. Could you go get her? I'll stay here and hold the fort."

"Are you sure you'll be ok with Ryoga here?"

Ranko smiled. "Hey, I'm you, remember?"

Ranma nodded before running off towards Dr. Tofu's clinic. Ranko looked up  
at Akane's window, smiling and waving at the two sisters. She sat down on  
one of the rocks bordering the pond, keeping herself in view of Akane and  
Ryoga at the same time. She didn't have to wait long. Ranma landed down  
from the roof, Ukyo slung over his shoulders, a few minutes later.

He gently put Ukyo down, who put her hands out to steady herself. "Next  
time, remind me to take the bus." Ranma guided her to sit down near the  
pond's edge. Ranko stepped over to the basket, picking up the shards and  
looking over the instructions. She stepped over to the pond, dropping the  
shards in. The water in the pond began to swirl and bubble. Ranko watched  
the water settle into a boiling whirlpool before looking up to Ryoga.

Ryoga looked at the churning water and blinked at Ranko. "You want me to  
get into that?"

Ranko nodded. "You want to break the spell? In you go."

Ryoga stepped up to the edge of the pool and peered down. P-Chan shivered  
in his arms. Ranma stepped up behind Ryoga. "Don't let me keep you,  
Ryoga." Ranma's foot helped Ryoga into the swirling water. Ryoga and  
P-Chan disappeared into the boiling whirlpool. Ranko walked to Ranma's  
side. The two of them stood at the edge of the pool. Ranko took Ranma's  
hand. Ranma looked over at Ranko, surprised that the touch didn't make him  
feel uncomfortable. "For Ukyo." They silently nodded at each other before  
jumping in.

Ukyo heard the splashes and the churning water. Ranma had made himself  
perfectly clear that they had no choice, but she couldn't help the feeling  
that breaking the spell would be at least as dangerous as making it was.  
She turned to face the direction of the sounds of the pool and waited. She  
didn't have to wait long. The gray in her vision began to shift almost  
immediately. It split into a black and white swirl, which faded into the  
image of the whirlpool. She took a moment to catch her breath, looking down  
at her hands, and even pinching her arm to convince herself that what she  
was seeing was real. She looked back at the pond. The whirlpool had  
slowed. She could see the waters become nearly still, but no Ranma or  
Ryoga. She stood up, looking down to the bottom of the pool, and saw a  
red-headed Ranma and P-Chan slowly float up to the surface. Both of them  
were unconscious, and Ukyo wasted no time in jumping into the pool and  
dragging the two out.

Holding P-Chan by the tail, she squished him gently, watching as water  
flowed out of his mouth. When no more water came out, she put him down and  
looked to Ranma. She rolled Ranma to her side and began pushing against her  
chest. After the water stopped coming out of Ranma's mouth, Ukyo began  
shaking her shoulders. "Come on, Ranma, wake up."

Ranma coughed and rolled to her knees, holding her stomach. Akane ran out  
of the house and kneeled by Ranma opposite of Ukyo. Both young women held  
Ranma as she coughed a bit more and looked up. Ranma looked at Ukyo for a  
moment before silently looking back at the pool. She looked back at Ukyo,  
hot tears warmed the cold water on her face. She managed to bitterly sob.  
"Ukyo."

Ukyo hugged Ranma. "Ran-chan. I'm so sorry it turned out this way. You  
gave up your cure for me."

Ranma quietly hugged Ukyo back. Akane sat and watched, enjoying the warm  
feeling she felt inside from the scene in front of her. Finally, they stood  
up. Ranma turned to Akane, holding Ukyo's hand. "Thanks, Akane."

"For what? All I did was watch."

Ranma put her hand on Akane's shoulder. "You helped me look for Ryoga. You  
let Kasumi take you upstairs. You came down to see me."

Akane smiled at Ranma a moment before turning to Ukyo. "I'm glad you're  
better."

Kasumi came out with a kettle of warm water. Ranma gratefully took it and  
poured it over herself. He then handed the empty kettle back to Kasumi.  
"Thank you, Kasumi."

Kasumi smiled and bowed. "You are welcome at this house anytime, Ranma and  
Ukyo."

Ukyo returned the bow. "Thank you. We should be getting back, though.  
We've had a big day."

Kasumi and Akane smiled back. The four turned to the sound of a small,  
coughing pig. Akane turned back to Ranma. "Don't worry, I'll take care of  
him."

Ukyo put her hand out. "Don't tell me, I don't want to know."

================================================== =========

Epilogue - Shades of Gray

Ranma sat on the side of his futon, rubbing the back of his head  
uncomfortably. "So, when can I start learning the Kounji School of  
Okonomyaki?"

Ukyo, sat beside him, scratching his back encouragingly. "Later. Ranma,  
you said you would explain why you broke the spell." Ranma nodded and  
shifted uncomfortably. Ukyo put her hand on his shoulder. "Would changing  
into a girl help you with this mushy stuff?"

Ranma shook his head and took a deep breath. He took Ukyo's hand and held  
it in his. "It's weird having two sets of memories for the past couple a'  
days. One half was getting used to being a girl. I noticed the advantages  
I had. I was faster, lighter. Those things I noticed when I could change  
back and forth, but I could also think more clearly, notice things better."

Ukyo nodded. "I noticed that the two of you talked differently."

Ranma sighed. "It was a different perspective, knowing that my body was  
permanent. The one thing that both sides of me realized was that it was a  
mistake to risk losing you to try to get the cure."

Ukyo shook her head. "I told you it was my fault."

"No, Ukyo. You accepted me for who I am. I couldn't let you pay the price  
for my cure."

Ukyo opened her mouth to protest when there was a knock at the door  
downstairs. She left Ranma's room, answered the door, and came back with  
Akane. Ranma smiled and stood up. "Yo, Akane. What's up?" Akane gave  
Ranma a bento box. Ranma decided not to ask if she had cooked something for  
him. Instead, he decided he would find out more safely and just as quickly  
if he just opened the box. Inside were the two stones, once again whole.  
He picked them up. There were no cracks, seams, or any other sign that they  
had once been in pieces.

Ukyo grabbed Ranma's shoulders. "Ranma, that's great! You can try again if  
you want."

Ranma didn't look up from the rocks. "Yeah, but this time, you're staying  
here, U-chan." He ran a finger over the stones, the touch assuring him that  
they were real. He looked up at Akane, incredulous. "How did you get  
these?"

Akane smiled. "Kasumi found them when she was feeding the fish."

Ukyo blinked. "There were fish in that pond?"

Akane shrugged. "Um, yeah. Only we seem to have half as many of them,  
now."

Ranma's face went pale. His mouth moved for a bit, and he finally managed  
to gurgle a word. "Oops."

===============================================

The End.


End file.
